


The Rain's Bride (KHR Fan-Fiction) [HIATUS]

by arxanna



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: F/M, and also fixing some grammar errors, for the time being, i'll be copy pasting all my works from wattpad, i'll proceed to fix the tags and descriptions, once i'm done
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-08
Updated: 2020-04-03
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:55:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 27,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22617499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arxanna/pseuds/arxanna
Summary: [HIATUS until further notice]Tsubame's parents have a surprise for her. They proudly announced that she will marry someone who happens to be their close friend's son. It is an arranged marriage that is made between two families. No matter how many times she refuses, they will never change their mind.Will she rather run away or marry someone she hardly knew?(TYL Yamamoto Takeshi x [OC])[KHR belongs to Amano Akira. Pictures are not mine unless stated.]
Kudos: 14





	1. arrangement

Kinoshita Tsubame knew she was not getting younger though she was only 23. She was just a normal-looking girl with brown hair that matched her hazel eyes. Most of her university friends were already dating and apparently, she was one of the few who was still single. It was not like she was an ugly young woman but she rarely had free time to date with any other guys. While waiting for her perfect future husband, she wanted to spend most of her time as a single young woman. 

Her hopes crushed when her parents had announced that she will marry someone who happened to be their close friend's son. It was an arranged marriage made by her parents and their close friend and she was totally against it because she felt like everything was done without her permission.

"Mum, dad, seriously?? Is this arranged marriage even exist??" asked Tsubame with her annoyed tone. 

"Don't be so negative, Ame-chan," her mother spoke out with her gentle voice. "We did this for your own good as we are worried that you will never get to find someone you love."

"Your mother is right," added her father. "Besides, Tsuyoshi's son is still single and I am sure that he will be a good husband."

"I didn't even see him before," Tsubame groaned. "How is it possible to marry someone I did not know??"

"Well, you did see him when you were young. You even played with him," her mother replied.

"Mum, I was way too young to remember that time!" she whined. "Mum, dad, please! Can we just forget about this marriage thing??"

"Tsubame, you are not telling me that you are still in love with that guy from your university?" asked her father sternly. "The one who's yelling like a madman while nearly destroying his electric guitar on the stage?"

She knew the person her father was referring to. Matsuoka Nori was a popular guy in her university and the main vocalist of his metal band. They first met at the university orientation and soon became friends. 

"Dad, Nori is a vocalist of his metal band. It is his way to sing. Plus, we are just friends."

"Just friends? I heard from some people that you love him."

"It's just a rumour," Tsubame rolled her eyes. "The girls are jealous that I can stand beside their beloved idol."

"Whatever it is, there is no way I will have this guy as my future son-in-law." her father cleared his throat before he spoke again. "Tsuyoshi and both of us have agreed to have a meeting along with his son by next week and I want you to be on your best behaviour."

Tsubame gave a deep sigh and she had no choice but to listen to her father's words. She had been quite nervous about the meeting with her future husband. She was afraid if she married someone who might hurt her. She heard that not all arranged marriages had happy endings. Her mother then placed both of her hands on her shoulders and was giving a motherly smile at her.

"Ame-chan, there is no need to worry. I believe that he will take good care of you. He's a good man, so try to believe in him."

"...Mum, you still want me to marry that man?"

"I know it's too early but if you take some time to know him better, then it will be fine."

* * *

She could not get to sleep well because she was still thinking about her marriage and her future husband. It would be better if he could be her boyfriend because she wanted to have more time to know more about him. Her parents seemed to rush on everything and it was the only thing she had been curious. Even if she asked, her parents would not explain anything about it.

"Tsubame, if you're not going to eat your pudding, you can always give it to me."

She snapped from her thoughts and turned to look at her plump friend named Chizuru. She was having a lunch break with her friends and did not feel like eating. Her other friend named Manaka noticed her strange behaviour and to her, she was not used to seeing Tsubame being so quiet.

"Is there something bothering your mind? You are not your usual self."

"...nothing. I'm just thinking of something," Tsubame gave a light sigh and she passed her pudding to Chizuru.

"Hey, you can tell us. It's better than keeping it all by yourself," said Manaka.

"Exactly, we've known each other since the first day in the university," Chizuru added while she started to peel off the pudding cover. 

"I know that," Tsubame replied and she was still quiet until she decided to tell them. "Do you have any boyfriend right now?"

Chizuru nearly dropped her spoon and Manaka flinched with surprise. Both of them were staring at her before they spoke out.

"You know so well that no boys will want to date with a plump girl like me," said Chizuru glumly.

"And I doubt if any guys wanted to date a girl with freckles," Manaka answered. "Why are you asking this kind of question?"

"W-wait, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings," Tsubame smiled nervously. "I just want to know-"

"Oh, I get it! Tsubame, you have a boyfriend, right??" the plump girl interrupted with her eager look.

"Seriously?? Who is it??" Manaka's eyes twinkled with curiosity. "Oh, is it Nori?"

"I don't have any boyfriend!" Tsubame snapped. "And Nori is just my friend, end of the story."

"Come on, everyone in this university knows that Matsuoka Nori has his eyes on you," the girl with freckles stated.

"That's an old story, he's going out with another girl."

"Well, if it is not him, then who??" the plump girl asked.

"I don't know who is that guy but he's not going to be my boyfriend," Tsubame answered. "My parents made a marriage arrangement for me with their best friend's son."

"Say what?!" Chizuru and Manaka yelled together. "You're going to-!"

Tsubame quickly hissed at them to shut their mouth and telling that they were still in the cafeteria. The two of them immediately went silent and their eyes were wide, still feeling shocked by her statement.

"Yes, I will marry someone else," Tsubame lowered her voice. "I'll be meeting them next week and I don't know what to do."

"You can say no. You can't just go and marry someone you did not know," said Chizuru.

"I can't do that. It's my parents' decision and I don't want their best friend think of something bad about my parents."

"But you choose your future. What if you end up marrying someone not trustworthy??"

"That is exactly what I'm afraid of," Tsubame answered. "I have not been getting enough sleep because of this..."

Chizuru felt speechless and she did not know what to say. Manaka had been listening and it was her turn to talk.

"Tsubame, are you rather curious on how your future husband looks like? Have your parents ever seen him?"

"Yeah, my parents know that guy. My mum said that I knew him when I was a child. But still, I was too young to remember how that boy looks like."

"I guess your parents would not simply marrying you off to a random person. You should give yourself a chance to meet him. If you don't love him, then you can make your decision about whether to leave him or not."

"Is it okay for me to do so?"

"You won't know if you don't try," Manaka smiled. "Tell us more once you've met him."

* * *

The baseball star of Namimori Middle School was now a mature grown-up man. He was on his way back to his father's sushi restaurant after a long flight from Italy. He had been in another country for so long as he was fully involved in a mafia business. 

The stuff that he thought was just a role-playing game when he was a teenager. He was Sawada Tsunayoshi's official Vongola Rain Guardian.

The brunette personally gave his friend a break from the Vongola business and had been telling him to spend his holidays with his father. It was a coincidence because his father wanted to discuss with him about something important.

It was already late evening when he arrived at the sushi restaurant. The place itself made him reminisce those time he had with his friends.

"I'm home!" Yamamoto Takeshi called out once he went inside his own home.

"Welcome home, Takeshi!" the restaurant owner greeted back and he was smiling widely to see his son's return.

His father, Tsuyoshi had been the one raising his only son and it was unsure if he knew about his involvement in the mafia world. Nevertheless, he had been prepared to find a perfect bride for him and he had a proper discussion with his close friend back then.

"Takeshi, do you still remember Kinoshita-san?"

"Hm, you mean uncle Kinoshita?" Yamamoto sipped his tea and he tried to recall his memory. "He was the one who gave me the baseball cap as a gift on my fifth birthday."

"I'm glad you remembered him. I guess you've seen his wife and his daughter, right?" Tsuyoshi chuckled. "His daughter was so shy back then and you often invited her to play with you. I highly doubted if a girl likes to play baseball."

"Oh, his daughter," the Rain Guardian smiled. "She looked like she did not have friends, so I figure out that she won't be lonely if I play with her. I wonder if she still remembers me."

"Time passed so quickly and it's hard to tell if she can recognise you. She was so young at that time."

"So, what about it? You say that you have something important to tell me."

Tsuyoshi knew he was at the point of the discussion. He placed the green teacup on the table and he was looking at his son. There was a reason why he wanted him to return home.

"Kinoshita-san and I had agreed. We decided to arrange a marriage for both of you and I must say that it is the right time for you to get a wife. The girl whom you used to play with will be your future wife."

"...Dad, what is all about?" Yamamoto's voice sounded not confident.

"You heard me, Takeshi. You will marry Kinoshita Tsubame."

The Rain Guardian was speechless. He could not believe that his father had made this marriage arrangement without his knowledge. Even if he knew, he was not prepared to have a wife especially when he was fully involved with the mafia. He was already well-known among the mafia members and his future wife could be his weakest point. He could not bring himself to disagree with this marriage because it was his father's decision.

Tsuyoshi was a stubborn old man and Yamamoto could not do anything to change his father's mind.

He decided to stay in his old home as it was quite late for him to return to his apartment. Since he was still not sleepy, he called Tsuna via video call and they had a long talk.

_"That's unexpected news, Takeshi. You are going to marry someone else?"_

"Yeah, that's what my old man says."

_"Arranged marriage, huh? You're not having some time to know your future wife well."_

"I've known her since we were kids but we kinda lost contact for years. I don't think she could remember me though."

 _"How can you expect a little kid to remember everything? I bet she will be the one who's nervous to see how her future husband looks like."_ the brunette laughed.

"You got the point," Yamamoto laughed as well. "Hey, Tsuna."

_"Yes?"_

"...I'm already fully involved with the mafia. Is it totally fine for me to marry someone?"

_"You're not confident, aren't you?"_

"I can't tell her about the mafia. I did not want any enemies to find out that she's my wife."

_"You sounds like Kyoko's brother. Are you planning to tell her a lie?"_

"What if I am going to do it?"

_"Takeshi, it is up to you if you want to tell or not. But for now, just don't think of anything. Take all the time you need to know more about her and be yourself, okay? At least make her see how's her future husband looks like."_

The brunette's advice somewhat had managed to clear his mind. It was only the beginning and he should not worry about it. He needed to be prepared before the meeting with the Kinoshita family. He was rather thankful to Tsuna and he was lucky to have a good friend like him.

"Thanks for your great advice, Tsuna. Let me know if you ever need me in Italy."

_"You're welcome, and all the best to you."_


	2. meeting

"Tsubame, check this out!" 

Manaka was calling out to her friends while holding a blue blouse. Tsubame and Chizuru saw her and they quickly came over. She was in the mall with her friends because she was looking for new clothes to wear before the meeting with her future husband's family. She could just randomly pick one from her wardrobe but her parents insisted that she should get a new one. At least she was lucky to have friends to help her choose better clothes to wear. 

"How about this? Do you like it?" Manaka asked.

"The colour is nice, but..." Tsubame was taking her time looking at the blouse. "I don't think this type of blouse fits me."

"That's a lot of frills," Chizuru commented. "You only can wear that if you are working as a clerk."

"Well, I thought she says she doesn't mind," Manaka rolled her eyes and placed back the blouse on the rack. "It's not fair. She didn't know how that guy she is going to marry looks like."

"All I know that he is probably around my age," said Tsubame. "I bet he doesn't mind what kind of clothes I will be wearing." 

"But your parents make you go out and buy new ones," Manaka searched further and found another simple blouse. "What about this one?"

"Meh, too plain. That's not going to look attractive," Chizuru commented and Manaka was getting annoyed.

"I'm asking Tsubame, not you! It's not like you're going to meet her future husband!"

"Hey, I'm helping her! Besides, the clothes you're picking are not even suitable for her!"

Tsubame tried to stop them from arguing but both of them were not even listening. She sighed and decided to look for the clothes instead. Her eyes fell upon some younger girls who were buying some clothes as well. Tsubame was a little jealous of them because those girls could wear whatever that suited them. She looked at her reflection in the mirror and she could see how normal she was.

Long brown hair with hazel eyes, thin but not too thin and she was wearing thick glasses. The girls at her university said that she was such a nerd who did not want to mix with anyone.

"Oi, Tsubame! Come over here!" 

She heard her friends calling out to her and walked towards them. 

"Done fighting?"

"Hehe, sorry," Chizuru giggled with her apologetic look. "This time, Manaka and I agree with this blouse. We're sure you're going to like it."

Manaka took out a lighter blue lipsy blouse with some violet flower petals as its pattern. Tsubame was staring at that blouse for quite a long time and slowly smiled, thinking that she had found perfect clothes to wear.

"I like this one, where did you get it?"

"We asked one of the promoters here to see if there's any blouse that looks attractive for someone thin like you. So, she brought us to another rack and we found it," Manaka answered.

"Why are you telling her that I'm thin?" Tsubame gave her a curious look.

"Well, you're thin. You look like you need more food than both of us," Chizuru explained.

"I'm not as thin as those anorexic models!" Tsubame snapped. "The hell I'm going to torture my own body for no reason!"

"Alright, we got it," Manaka quickly answered. "But we would never think like that about you. It was those girls in the university. They spread rumours that you're trying to be beautiful for the sake of Matsuoka Nori."

"I think they were the ones who wanted to be pretty for him," Tsubame rolled her eyes. "Anyway, let me pay for this blouse and we'll head back to the university."

The three of them eventually stepped out of the clothes store and left the mall so that they could catch a bus back to their university. While they were waiting, Tsubame realised that she had left something important behind.

"Ah, crap! I've left my ID card in the dressing room!" she shrieked.

"What?? How could you left it at there??" asked Manaka in shock.

"Probably because I was trying to wear that blouse," Tsubame quickly answered. "I need to go back there again!"

"W-wait, the bus is about to come!" Chizuru yelled.

"I'll be quick!"

Tsubame ran back inside the mall again and she was smiling with relief to see her ID card still in the dressing room. However, what came next was not her luck as she ended up seeing the twins named Kuranosuke Sayaka and Sayuri, who were also in the same clothing store, buying some clothes.

The Kuranosuke twins were the most attractive girls in the university and were highly admired by almost all the male students. The older twin was currently dating Matsuoka Nori and she was jealous at Tsubame for being too friendly with her boyfriend. This was the main reason why Tsubame often avoided Nori whenever she saw him. 

"Geez, I really should not have seen you in the first place. Your presence gives me extremely bad luck," Sayaka scoffed arrogantly.

"Bad luck?" Tsubame narrowed her eyes. "Shouldn't you keep those words for the crows flying around your house?"

"Very funny, Speckles," Sayaka's arrogant smile twitched and pushed Tsubame until she fell onto the floor. "Just because you are f*cking close with Nori doesn't mean that I will let you go."

"S-sister, you should not do that," said Sayuri timidly. "What if Nori sees it?"

"As long as you shut your mouth, he will never know," Sayaka snapped at her younger twin angrily before she turned to look at Tsubame. "I see that you've bought something from this place. May I have a look?"

Tsubame flinched and tried to grab the paper bag but the other was quicker. Sayaka took out the lipsy blouse and she looked like she was interested in it.

"This is such a pretty lipsy blouse. Why are you buying this?"

"You ask why? Because I like it, that's why," Tsubame answered. "Now give it back to me."

"No, I'll take it," Sayaka grinned. "It fits perfectly to me."

"I pay for this! Go and find another blouse instead!"

"Why are you being so loud? Sharing is caring, right~?"

"Who the actual f*ck wants to share with you??"

Sayaka's temper was rising and her younger twin tried her best to calm her down.

"Sister, please don't be angry at her. Maybe she wanted to wear that blouse so that Nori will fell for her?"

"Oh, is that so?" the older twin laughed sarcastically. "As if I would let you stay close with my boyfriend."

"I'm not! I didn't-"

Sayaka went on to take a pair of scissors from the promoter's table and started to cut the blouse into pieces. The people in the clothes store including Tsubame watched with horror and she could not believe that the older twin would dare to do whatever she wanted to the public. The promoter was trying to stop her but she was still cutting it.

"There you go, Speckles. I don't have to worry about someone stealing my precious boyfriend."

The twins then walked off from the store and the promoter quickly picked up the blouse pieces, giving her concerned look at Tsubame who was still in shock.

"M-Miss, do you want a replacement? I can look for another one for you."

"...No, it's fine. I don't feel like buying."

Tsubame stepped out of the store and she took out her phone to check her new messages. Manaka and Chizuru had been trying to call her but she did not answer. They were telling her that they were trying to stop the bus from leaving and more people were getting on the bus, causing Tsubame to miss it. Seemed that she was going back to the university alone.

_[Text: To Chizuru]_

_Sorry, something happened. I'll take another bus. Wait for my return._

She left the mall and waited for another bus at the bus stop. She noticed that the sky was getting darker and realised that she did not bring her umbrella. She groaned and was merely frustrated. First, the Kuranosuke twins. Then her blouse and now the rain. She was trying to convince that it was not for Nori but she could not tell them that she was wearing it for the meeting with her future husband.

She would be highly questioned on how he looked like. Or perhaps being a laughing stock for getting married in her age. 

"Hey, miss. Are you alright?"

Tsubame's head jerked up and she saw a tall young man about her age sitting beside her. He looked like he was working in the law firm because she could see that he had the black suit placed beside him. He was a good looking one though she was curious about the scar on his right chin. 

"Um, what makes you think that I'm not alright?" she asked curiously.

"You look like you want to cry, so I thought if there is anything I can help you," he smiled as his brown eyes held a great concern. "Fought with someone?"

"Sort of, but that girl is the one started it. She always thought that I would steal her boyfriend no matter how many times I tell her that he is just my friend."

"Is that so? Sounds like she is a type of girl who gets jealous easily."

"She is. That is why I tried to stay away from that guy," Tsubame sighed. "Because of her, I missed a bus and I have to wait for another one."

"Oh, where are you going next?"

"To my university. My two friends are extremely worried by now."

"It's a good thing to have friends care about you." the man grinned. "Reminds me so much of my school years."

"Do you still keep in touch with them?"

"Yes, until now. I am working with my friends."

"I see."

Tsubame heard the growling sound of thunder and the rain started to fall. More people on the streets quickly took out their umbrellas to shield themselves from the rain and some of them had to use their coats or their bags. She noticed that it was only her and the young man sitting at the bus stop. She looked at her watch to see the time and then staring at the road, which was soaking wet due to rain.

"When I was young, I would always look out at the window to see the rain showering at my garden," Tsubame spoke out. "I was once scolded by my mum for playing in the rain and I caught a fever on the other day."

"Oh, really?" the man chuckled. "I often played in the rain, especially after my baseball games. My old man scolded me for coming home in a muddy state."

"Is that so?" she laughed as well. "Childhood years were really fun compared to adult life. If only I could rewind to that time I wanted."

"I agree with you. I do wish that I can go back to that time."

Tsubame turned to look at that man and his face held the serious look. Before she could ask, she heard a bus coming to their spot and she found out that it would stop somewhere at her university. She stood up and she was about to run towards the bus when she heard him calling out to her.

"Miss, are you going to run in the rain??"

"I'm not going to miss another one. Besides, I forgot to bring my umbrella."

He was staring at her for seconds and he took his black suit to cover her head. She blinked with surprise upon his kind gesture.

"Use this instead. You can return to me the next time we meet." 

"W-what?? I can't, what about you??"

"I'm fine on my own," the man smiled as he winked. "You're not the only one who loves to play in the rain."

Tsubame's cheeks turned red and she thanked him before climbing into the bus. Once she took her seat, she was still looking at that young man who was waving at her before he went back to the bus stop, waiting for the next one. She was smiling while gently touching the black suit. 

Something came into her mind and she slapped her forehead.

"Damn, I forgot to ask for his name."


	3. surprise

It was two days before the meeting. Tsubame still could not find any clothes to wear and her only choice was to pick one from her wardrobe. The day after Sayaka cut off her blouse made her not in a mood of buying one. Manaka and Chizuru were furious when they heard what the older Kuranosuke twin had done to Tsubame's lipsy blouse. If only they followed her to get her missing ID card, they would have been able to stop that from happening.

Tsubame did not blame them. She was the one who wanted to retrieve her ID card on her own. Sayaka's action was gone too far and that made Tsubame avoid Matsuoka Nori even more often than usual.

While she was walking to her next class from another building, she heard a motorbike coming in her direction. She quickly stepped aside and the motorbike stopped right in front of her. The person who rode the motorbike was taking off the helmet and it was a guy with half-shaved hair. Tsubame knew who was he and she gave a light sigh.

"Nori, didn't I tell you not to see me too often?"

"I heard from Manaka and Chizuru that you've been left out at the bus stop and I did come to fetch you. I even tried to call you many times but you didn't answer. Is there something wrong?" 

"Nothing wrong. I appreciate your help but I'm doing fine."

"Is it so wrong to be friends with you, Tsubame?"

"It's not wrong, but you really should have spent more time with your girlfriend."

"...Sayaka did something bad to you, am I right?" Nori asked curiously.

"Nori, she didn't do anything wrong to me," Tsubame gave her best convincing smile to him. "You are the coolest and the most handsome rock star in this university. Normally, most of the girls here have a huge crush on you. Since Sayaka is your girlfriend, she would always feel insecure about her relationship with you. I merely tell her that you and I are just friends. That's it. Nothing happened between us."

"Are you sure she didn't hurt you or anything?"

"Would I lie? Why do you think she would hurt me??"

"I know those twins better than anyone else," Nori sighed. "Forget it then. I want to ask you something."

"Hm, what is it?"

"My friends and I will be performing at the town's mall two days from now. Lots of people will be coming to watch. Do you want to come? I'll give you the ticket for free."

Tsubame was fine with it until she realised that she will be meeting her future husband on that same day Nori was performing. If it was not because of this arranged marriage, she would not have to feel so bad for declining Nori's offer to watch his concert.

"I'm sorry, I can't go. I have something important to do with my parents on that day."

"Why not coming over after dealing with your parents? It's going to end until night."

"Even I am not sure when I am done with it. I'm sorry, Nori. Maybe you can ask Manaka and Chizuru to watch instead. I think they are fine with it."

"Well, if you say so. Too bad," Nori replied. "But, you know...if those twins are giving you more trouble, you should tell me."

"What are you going to do if I tell? Sayaka is your girlfriend after all."

"She is and I want to remind her that it is not right to harass my friend."

"Please don't ruin your relationship because of me, Nori," Tsubame stated firmly. "All I want is for both of you to be happy."

"I'll try."

* * *

Tsubame was at home and she was still unsure what to wear. She had to agree with her mother that most of the clothes she had were not suitable for that meeting. There was one time, she had a bad dream where she would end up marrying a man who was way too old for her age and a type that will beat her up like a sandbag. She woke up in shock, screaming and crying. She kept on begging her parents to cancel that arranged marriage and it was no use. Manaka and Chizuru had been trying their best to cheer her up and forget about that nightmare.

It did not change her parents' mind but she was grateful for their help. 

Her eyes then fixed onto a paper bag that she got from the laundry shop and instantly remembered something. It was the black suit where that young man from the bus stop lent it to her to protect herself from the rain the other day. As she did not when she would return it to him, it would be better if she washed it first. 

_"You're not the only one who loves to play in the rain."_

Tsubame smiled as she still remembered those words he said to her. If that young man would be her future husband, she would be so relieved.

"Ame-chan, there's a package for you!"

She blinked in surprise and she went to the door to see the package. Her mother was standing in front of her room and she was holding a courier package.

"Strange, I didn't order anything. Who send it to me?"

"Your uncle sends it to you, Ame-chan," her mother smiled. "He found out that a certain girl had destroyed the lipsy blouse you bought it on that day. So he got another same blouse and he decided to give it to you."

"W-why all the trouble??" Tsubame said quickly. "Uncle don't need to do that for me."

"Did you forget that he works in that clothing department? He was merely surprised that you bought it for the meeting with your future husband."

"...Mum, you have been avoiding my question many times and I hope to find the real reason why I should marry uncle Tsuyoshi's son. Dad refused to tell me why and I felt like everything is so rushed. Just one reason and I will think about this arranged marriage."

Her mother seemed reluctant to answer her question but she felt like it was not fair that her daughter did not know the truth or the reason why she should marry her husband's friend's son. She soon sat beside Tsubame on the bed and her eyes then stared at the wall before she started to talk. 

"You know, your father and I have known Takeshi when he was little. He grew up without his mother and it was pretty tough for him. I heard from Tsuyoshi that his son refused to believe that his mother was gone and had been hoping that she will return home one day. He did not know if his son was still remembering his mother but so far, he was doing well and have many friends from his middle school. The girls from his school admired him and none of them could capture his heart. Once he grew older, he seemed to avoid the girls, claiming that he was not ready to have a girlfriend or wife due to his current job. Tsuyoshi did not want him to be alone and thus, decided to go on with this arranged marriage we've planned years ago."

"So, why should I be his wife but not other potential girls?"

"Because..." her mother smiled. "...you are the one who can make him smile happily."

"I-I can do that?? How is that so?"

"Takeshi is always smiling but Tsuyoshi can tell that his son can hide a lot of things behind his smile. He may be a happy-go-lucky guy but he is good at hiding his feelings. We have no idea how did you do it but back then, he was smiling. It was the most genuine smile we've seen and Tsuyoshi wished to see that again."

"Alright, I might think about it but, how on earth I can make him smile like 'that' ever again? I don't think I can question my child self unless time travel."

Her mother chuckled and she touched Tsubame's cheek gently.

"You don't need to force yourself. Someday, you will be able to make him happy once again."

"Just one thing, mum."

"What is it?"

"Is he a good man?"

"Yes, he is. I would honestly disagree with this arranged marriage if he is not a good man."

* * *

Tsubame and her parents were in a cafe and they were waiting for Tsuyoshi and his son. She was rather nervous compared to her parents and she wanted to run away. She tried to convince herself that she will meet someone nice but the nightmare kept on haunting her mind. 

If she was given a choice, she would rather watch Nori's concert with Manaka and Chizuru.

Both of her friends were sending their messages and they were telling her that they were attending Nori's concert. They mentioned that most of the audiences were the fangirls and they were curious to see if the Kuranosuke twins will be coming or not.

_[Received Text: From Manaka]_

_Sayaka always 'bully' you for getting near to her precious boyfriend. Now I want to see how is she going to react after she sees Nori's fangirls ( >:D). Btw, good luck with your meeting. Chizuru and I can't wait to hear more from you *peace*_

_[Text: To Manaka]_

_Geez, I knew you would say that (=_=|||). Still, thanks anyway. Have fun at Nori's concert._

Once she was done with her reply, Tsubame stood up from her seat and told her parents that she needed to use the washroom. She was lucky to be in the washroom cubicle because she heard Sayuri's voice from outside and she was talking to someone else. She was about to leave when Sayuri's supposedly friend was mentioning her name.

"Shouldn't you be happy that Kinoshita Tsubame is not attending Matsuoka's performance? Why are you still worried?"

"She's not my threat since Nori clearly says that they are just friends," Sayuri washed her hands and she was taking out her pink lipstick from her makeup bag. "I just want to make sure that my sister is not going to that performance."

"Are you talking about Sayaka? I thought you are afraid of her."

"Well, if you think that I am afraid of her, you are wrong. She should be afraid of me instead," the younger twin's voice was colder than usual. "I have enough becoming her servant just because we are twins. She doesn't deserve to be Nori's girlfriend from the first place. She stole him from me."

"But they are together. What are you going to do?"

"Don't you worry about it," Sayuri smirked and she was filling her lips with the lipstick. "She is so busy plotting revenge against Kinoshita Tsubame while forgetting that I am going to steal Nori from her. But not so fast. I don't want her to be suspicious of me."

Tsubame could not believe that the soft-spoken Sayuri could be more cunning than her older twin sister. Though she overheard Sayuri's evil plan, she was not going to get herself involved with these twins' game. 

Sayuri soon leaving the washroom with her friend and Tsubame came out from the cubicle. She received a call from her mother and she was being told to return quickly because Tsuyoshi and his son already arrived at the cafe. The stress built into her mind and she was running until she accidentally ran into someone, causing her to fall on the floor. 

"H-hey, miss! Are you alright?"

That voice, it was so familiar. That same voice belonged to a young man from the bus stop days earlier. Tsubame's glasses were askew but she was more focused on someone who was holding out his hand for her to stand up.

"It...it's you." 

"Oh? You're the one from the bus stop, right?" the young man asked and he helped her to stand. "Such a coincidence, I must say."

"Y-yeah, I agree," she smiled nervously. "Why are you here?"

"I'm here with my old man," he replied and he smiled. "Both of us are here to meet someone. What about you?"

"I'm here with my parents to meet someone too," she replied. "Seriously, it is such a coincidence."

"Well, more like a fate uniting both of us," the young man chuckled and he was placing his hand on the back of his head.

Tsubame soon stopped talking and she was stunned when the young man did that such gesture. It felt like it was his habit of placing his hand on the back of his head.

Someone did that before. During her childhood years.

"Takeshi! Why are you taking a long time there?!"

A voice was calling for this young man. Takeshi? The same person her mother was talking about?

Another man was coming to them and his face was similar to a young man named Takeshi. Tsubame seemed to know who will be her future husband. All because that older man asked her a question.

"Hey, are you Kinoshita Tsubame?"


	4. decision

Tsubame was sitting with her parents and Yamamoto was sitting beside his father. The two families were in the cafe for an important meeting and they seemed to agree with the arranged marriage that they had made years ago. She was almost silent most of the time because she did not expect to marry a man whom she had met a few days earlier. Yamamoto was having a friendly talk with her parents though he was also surprised that she would be his future wife.

"It's been many years and you've grown so much, Takeshi," Tsubame's father commented with his humble smile. "I've often heard from Tsuyoshi that you played well in the baseball game."

"It's been my favourite sport for all this time," Yamamoto replied as he chuckled. "I never give up on it even after I'm working with my friends."

"Oh, what are you working as? Why you don't want to be a professional baseball player?" her mother curiously asked.

"Sacrifices has to be made," he replied. "I'm working with my friends overseas. It's like a business corporation that my friend had established."

Tsubame seemed to catch his words especially when he said about sacrifice. Was he trying to say that to pursue what he needed to do, he had to sacrifice his dream to become a professional baseball player?

"Hey, Tsubame," Tsuyoshi called her out with his cheerful tone. "Why are you so quiet today? Are you sick or something?"

"I-I'm not sick, uncle Tsuyoshi," Tsubame smiled awkwardly. "I'm not a good talker."

"Not a good talker? You are just the same when you're little," Tsuyoshi laughed. "Takeshi always wanted to play with you but you were so shy and you just wanted to stick with your mother."

"She's a noisy child when she's at home and a complete opposite when she's outside," Tsubame's father commented and her face had gone red with embarrassment.

"Oh, is that so? I heard that you are still studying, Tsubame. What course are you taking?"

"Um, pharmacy," she answered. "I'm aiming to be a pharmacist."

"A pharmacist?" Tsuyoshi looked impressed for first before he asked his son. "What's a pharmacist?"

"A person who prepares and dispensing medicines to the patients," Yamamoto answered. "You know, the one who gave you the painkillers for backache in the hospital."

"A backache? Why I didn't know about this?" her father asked.

"It's nothing much. Just a small sprain after preparing some dishes for customers," Tsuyoshi grinned. "Hey, I'm still a strong man here."

"If you need a rest, then take it. Don't ever force yourself," said her mother with worry. 

"I know, I will. Just in case, maybe Tsubame can give me some medicines for free." 

"I-I can't simply give the medicines like that!" Tsubame replied quickly. "Especially when it's a controlled drug-"

"Haha, no need to be so alarmed! It's just a joke!"

Yamamoto merely shook his head and he gave a small smile to Tsubame, possibly wanting her to forgive his old man's attitude. She nodded once and she started to feel comfortable talking with her future father-in-law. 

"Alright, back to the topic," her father spoke up. "Since both of them already meet each other, we can proceed with the engagement. Right after we have the rings for both of them, of course." 

"If it is alright, we can set up the right time for their engagement. I'm thinking of next spring or next summer."

Tsubame flinched with shock and her eyes fixed on her mother. It was just a meeting and she was going to engage by next spring. This was way too fast and she was not prepared for anything.

"W-wait a second!"

The cafe was nearly quiet when everyone turned to look at her. Tsubame's face turned even redder than usual and she apologised before she sat back on the chair. Her parents seemed confused with her behaviour while Yamamoto and his father were giving their puzzled look to her.

"Is there anything wrong, Tsubame?" her father asked and he was not impressed.

"I'm so sorry but this is way too fast for me," she tried to explain. "I'm still studying and I thought if we can just engage or marry after I graduate from my university."

"You are saying that this needs to wait until you graduate?" her mother spoke up and she gasped with shock. "By that time, you are already thirty over after you graduate!"

"Mum, I know. I'm getting older but studies and marriage at the same time??" Tsubame was getting stressed up while thinking of her soon complicated life as a student and a wife, or better, a fiancee. "Some people can handle it and I'm not like them. I have so many things to do and I will be much busier once I start to do my training course in hospitals."

"Ame-chan, I thought you agreed with this marriage."

"I am, but-"

"Um, excuse me."

Yamamoto finally spoke up and the three of them turned to look at him. He remained calm and he simply smiled at them. It looked like he could figure out how to handle this situation.

"I am not going against this arranged marriage and I accepted it. I understand if Tsubame did not think the same way as I am but to be fair for her, I will marry her until she says she is ready to be my wife."

Tsubame was speechless and her current expression looked like someone who had wished her happy birthday on a wrong day. Tsuyoshi was impressed by his son's answer and Tsubame's parents were highly surprised. 

"You're going to wait until she graduates? That's a long time," her mother replied.

"And I thought that if both of you could engage soon enough, she will get to know more about you before the marriage," added her father.

"Is that so? Maybe she can stay at my apartment."

Tsuyoshi and Tsubame choked on the water in sudden and they coughed at the same time. 

"Takeshi! How could you ask a girl to stay in your apartment?? You are not her official fiance or husband yet!"

"Why not? I've seen many couples staying together before they are ready to marry each other. I think this would be a good chance for me and Tsubame to know each other well."

"Technically, they are already a husband and wife when we made this arranged marriage," her father murmured and his wife shot her cross look at him.

"Dear, that doesn't count as official."

"So, you're going to wait until she's thirty? I've told you before, studying in a medical field is going to take years to finish."

"Ame-chan had chosen her path and we do not have the right to stop her from becoming what she wants."

She knew this kind of meeting would not last if her parents were about to argue. Since her future husband had made his decision, there was no way she would keep quiet about it. It was her turn to voice out her own opinion.

"Mum, Dad...I'm going to stay with Takeshi."

Tsuyoshi nearly dropped his glass of water after hearing her answer. Her parents stopped talking and it felt like someone had just nuked a whole town.

"T-Tsubame...not you too."

"Ame-chan, are you sure about it?"

"Since Mum and Dad still want me to engage or marry him, then I accept his idea. I'll be staying at his apartment, learn to be a good wife while pursuing my studies and I might be able to know more about him. Once I am ready, I will be his official wife."

Overall, her parents and Yamamoto's father had agreed to let them stay together and they will set the right time for their upcoming engagement and their marriage, possibly after Tsubame's graduation. As it was nearly late evening, the two families left the cafe and they would meet up again next time. 

Tsubame and Yamamoto's eyes met each other and they did not know what to say either. He just smiled and said goodbye to her before leaving with his father. 

Once she moved into his place, this would be the beginning of her new life.

* * *

"Arrgghh!! What I have done??!"

"You just confessed that you will marry your future husband after your graduation."

Chizuru and Manaka were repeating the same sentences every time Tsubame whined about making a bad choice in her life. She told everything about the meeting and thinking that living in Yamamoto's place was something she did not expect to happen.

"I was about to say that I want some time to understand him better but I ended up saying that I will stay in his place! What the hell am I thinking??"

"You said that because he's a handsome man, right?" Manaka teased. "You seriously never heard of the famous Yamamoto Takeshi? He's the most excellent baseball player in Namimori Middle School and the son of a sushi restaurant owner."

"It's not like I attend the same school as him," Tsubame replied. "How do you know so much about him?"

"Hello, I'm from Midori Middle School," Manaka rolled her eyes. "His school is just walking distance from my school and even the girls from Midori adore him as much as the girls from Namimori."

"At least you're lucky to see him lots of times," Chizuru interrupted. "I only heard of him from my school's newspaper because his school baseball team used to fight against my school baseball team."

"Lucky? You're not telling me that you admire him too?" asked Manaka curiously.

"W-why not??" Chizuru quickly answered. "That's in the past! Even if I admire him, I don't have a chance to marry him either!"

"But, Chizuru," Tsubame looked a little guilty. "Are you okay with it since he's going to be my future husband?"

"You don't need to worry about me, Tsubame," said Chizuru firmly. "I'm not going to murder you for marrying someone I used to admire."

"See? Chizuru could think better, unlike that Kuranosuke Sayaka. She's overly possessive when it's about her boyfriend," added Manaka.

"Oh, is Nori doing well with his concert?" Tsubame asked.

"Absolute perfection," Manaka smiled. "I'm not into metal song but he sang so well. His admirers were screaming like a banshee once he came upon the stage."

"I didn't see Kuranosuke Sayaka anywhere during that concert," said Chizuru. "That's a rare thing of her."

Tsubame suddenly remembered the conversation between the younger twin with someone in the washroom. Did Sayuri ever manage to come up with something that caused her older twin not able to attend Nori's concert?

"Um, did you see Sayuri around during Nori's concert?"

"Didn't we say that she's not around-"

Manaka smacked Chizuru's arm at the same time.

"That's Sayaka, not Sayuri! Are you confused between both of them?"

"They are twins, right?? They looked almost the same!"

"Nah, Sayuri is thinner than Sayaka, if you look closely enough," Tsubame commented. "Was she there or not?"

"We were not sure," Manaka answered. "Right after the concert, Nori came to see us and he was wondering if you are doing fine or not. Not long after that, he received a call from Sayuri, saying that she wanted to see him urgently. He probably worried something happened to Sayaka, so he quickly left to see her."

"Wouldn't Sayaka be mad if her twin gets close to Nori?" Chizuru was rather curious.

"Well, if she could unmask Sayuri's true nature."

"What do you mean?"

Tsubame went on to explain about Sayuri's conversation with her possible friend in the washroom right before she met with Yamamoto Takeshi. Both Chizuru and Manaka gasped with shock when they listened to Tsubame's explanation.

"So Sayuri did something? Like she managed to stop her sister from attending Nori's concert?" said Manaka.

"But how? Sayaka can't be possible forgetting about Nori's concert since she's so 'protective' towards her boyfriend," said Chizuru.

"Which is why I am wondering what Sayuri has done. I did not want to get involved with the twins' problems but I don't want to see Nori being in the centre of drama attention," said Tsubame.

"Hey, if you get involved, the twins will murder you," Manaka warned. "Nori is going to try to solve his problem and you should start to focus on how to be Yamamoto Takeshi's good wife."

"What you want me to do? Sweep the floor, wipe the windows, cleaning his bedroom??"

"Cleaning his bedroom sounds like a good idea, though," Chizuru snickered and Tsubame's face turned completely red.

"I'm not going to do that! That's invading someone's privacy!"

"He's your husband, so you will soon do that."

The three of them went on to talk further about her marriage and Tsubame was still worried about Matsuoka Nori. She still had to agree with Manaka by not getting involved with the Kuranosuke twins' problem and start thinking of her future life.

She was going to have a lot of work to do after she had decided to stay with Yamamoto Takeshi.


	5. stay

Tsubame spent most of her semester break to pack up her necessary things in the luggage and most of it was her books and medical studies. The luggage would be way too heavy for her to carry on her own, so her parents contacted the courier service to deliver straight to Yamamoto's apartment. Despite staying at his place, she still could return home if in case she needed to take something.

She was staring at her room which used to be her private place to talk to her friends through her phone or her laptop, watching movies, daydreaming about her own future life and other things. She knew it was going to be a long time for her to return to her own house and she was starting to miss her room. 

She nearly forgot something and quickly came over to her clothes drawer to pick up something important. She took out the paper bag with the black suit in it and she finally had the chance to give it back to Yamamoto. 

"Oh...I did wish that he would be my future husband."

Tsubame shook her head hard and her cheeks were getting red while thinking of her ridiculous wish. She was lucky not to marry a dangerous man but she would not expect to marry someone she met before the meeting. 

Her parents called out for her from outside the house and she soon left after having a last look of her room. She was carrying small luggage with her and she stepped out of her house. Her parents had been waiting outside for a taxi to fetch their daughter to Yamamoto's apartment. 

"I wonder why Takeshi would not want to stay with his father. His apartment is way too far from Tsuyoshi's place," her mother commented.

"He wants to live independently. See, he knows how to take care of his own without his father worrying about him," her father replied. "Not all newlyweds want to stay with their in-laws."

"You're talking about me, right?" her mother asked curiously.

"I didn't set you as an example."

"You know so well that I don't like to live with your parents, dear."

"Oho, so you finally admitted that you dislike my parents."

"Your parents are way too demanding for everything. Whatever I do for them, they were not satisfied at all but they were so nice to me when you were around. They were not happy to take me as their daughter-in-law if you know what I mean."

"That's in the past. I guess you should know that my parents have treated you much better after you gave birth to Tsubame and-"

"D-dear, quiet down...!" her mother whispered quickly. "Not in front of Ame-chan."

"Sorry, I forgot..." her father cleared his throat.

"I know you still can't forgive him but no matter what happens, he's still-"

"No. You should know that his existence will always endanger Tsubame's life. It would be better if she never knew who he was."

"That's just ridiculous. He has his reasons."

"What reason? He's the reason why she nearly got k-"

"Mum? Dad? Is there something wrong?"

Her parents immediately stopped talking and she knew both of them were having a serious conversation. Her mother merely smiled at her before she spoke out.

"You've packed your things? The taxi will be here quick enough."

"Yeah. I just need to leave my other two luggage in this house."

"Don't worry about that. Your father will contact the courier service to have them sent straight to Takeshi's apartment."

"Thanks. Mum, are you sure nothing bad happened?"

"Of course nothing bad happened. Your father is being so emotional after seeing his precious daughter getting married to his good friend's son."

"Is that so?"

Her father then turned to look at her.

"What is that look you have? I have my right to cry after witnessing my daughter's marriage."

"Dad, we're not married yet," Tsubame sighed heavily. "Just call it a test to see if I can be Takeshi's wife."

"If that's you want. Be sure to behave well while you stay at his apartment. Don't be such a lazy young lady and do some housework. Do more cooking than eating outside."

"Dad, you sound more like a mum."

"And most importantly, do not ever bring anyone to his apartment especially any of your male friends."

"Dad! Who in the world brings anyone to the husband's house??"

"Some of your older cousins did that. I don't want you to do the same."

"That's their problem, not me!"

"Oh, another thing," her mother added. "If Takeshi is ever so tired from his work, you could always give him a quick massage."

"Mum, I'm only twenty-three years old with the brain of a nerdy medical student!" Tsubame screeched. "I'm going nuts before I could become his wife!"

"See, even our daughter is more excited about her happy marriage," her mother smiled to her father.

As soon as the taxi arrived, Tsubame climbed in to get a proper seat while carefully placing her small luggage beside her seat. She said goodbye to her parents before the taxi driver drove off straight to her destination. She could not believe that Yamamoto's apartment was a few kilometres away from his father's place and she would be wondering why he needed to stay far away from his father.

Hopefully, nothing happened between him and Tsuyoshi.

* * *

Yamamoto had just returned to his apartment and he found out that he received a call from Italy. He knew this could be either a normal call from Tsuna or a secret mission from the brunette himself. He did not hesitate further as he answered the call.

 _"Hello, Takeshi. Did you just woke up?"_ Tsuna greeted casually.

"No, I just came back," Yamamoto grinned. "How's everything there?"

_"Same as usual. Reborn was done with his mission and now using Lambo as his servant. As if I would let him do whatever he liked. At least he did ask about you since he didn't see you around."_

"Well, tell him I'm doing fine here. I am ready to return to Italy if I am needed."

_"I thought you are currently dealing with your arranged marriage stuff."_

"The meeting was days ago and I came up with a suggestion. I told her parents that she can stay at my apartment so that she could get to know me better before she is ready to be my wife."

_"Seriously?? Damn, since when you've grown up like a real man?"_

"All thanks to you, Tsuna."

_"It's not like I'm an expert when it comes to a relationship, okay? So, where is she now?"_

"She's on her way to my apartment. She's probably going to ask why I'm not staying with my old man."

_"If you decided to tell her about the mafia stuff."_

"No, it's way too early for her to learn about my real job. I don't want to risk her life for now."

_"Is she working?"_

"Still studying, she's aiming to be a pharmacist."

_"Pharmacist? A medical student. She sure looks like a nerdy student."_

"I think she's cute. I mean, I nearly could not recognise her because of her glasses."

_"Cute? You need to let me see how she looks like, Takeshi."_

"I'm not going to let you take her, Tsuna."

_"Oh, is this a challenge?"_

"Try it if you dare."

The brunette gave a light laugh as he smiled before he continued to talk.

_"Don't worry. I'm not going to take her from you. Just be sure to take good care of her."_

"I know you wouldn't do that, and I will," Yamamoto answered. "So, why did you call me for?"

_"I guess you know why I call you. It's a secret mission for you and Kyoya."_

"For both of us? Is he here in Japan?"

_"He's already in Japan days earlier than you. He's the Namimori protector, remember?"_

"Why I would forget that? He would never leave his homeland."

_"We all already know that. For this secret mission, I need both of you to protect Dino's life while he's in Japan for his meeting with a certain yakuza family. He is going to agree with them but the yakuza leader doesn't trust foreigners."_

"You're saying that they might be going to kill Dino?"

_"That is what I'm afraid of. Kyoya knows better about that yakuza family and he told me that they are pretty ruthless. I'll send you the location of that meeting in the late evening. Just remember, both of you cannot be seen unless it's an emergency."_

"We'll do our best to keep your brother safe, Tsuna. Leave this to both of us."

_"Thank you so much, Takeshi. We'll talk further this later evening."_

Yamamoto nodded and he placed his phone on the table. He was in his thoughts about his new mission when his pet Akita dog came out from another room and it was sitting in front of the entrance door. Before he could ever wonder why his dog would sit there, a doorbell rang loudly. He realised that Tsubame would be coming over to stay in his apartment. He peeked through the door hole and he saw her standing outside with her small luggage.

Once he opened the door, he wanted to greet her but his dog was already welcoming her with its happy look. Tsubame yelped with shock as she tripped and fell to the floor. Yamamoto noticed her sudden expression and he quickly held his dog by its collar.

"I'm sorry! Are you alright??" he asked with worry.

"I-I'm fine..." Tsubame muttered. "I-Is that your dog?"

"Um, are you scared of dogs?"

"S-some large wild dogs cornered me around when I was a kid, so I kinda traumatised a little."

"It's okay, Shiro is not going to bite you," Yamamoto gave his most convincing smile to her. "He's happy to see a newcomer."

"Y-you sure about it?"

"I won't lie. Trust me," he petted his dog's head. "Hey, Shiro. Say hello to Tsubame. She's going to live with us from now on."

The Akita dog named Shiro wagged its tail happily and slowly walked towards her. Tsubame was still a little afraid and the dog just sat in front of her, waiting for her to pet its head. She gulped, gathering most of her courage she had to touch Shiro's head. She gently placed her hand on Shiro's head and the dog wagged its tail even faster. 

"See? Shiro likes you," Yamamoto spoke out.

"He's cute," Tsubame answered and a smile was formed on her face. "You took him in?"

"I adopted him when he was just a puppy. An irresponsible driver was reversing his car and he nearly drove over Shiro. I managed to pick him up and he was shivering with fear. I decided to adopt him after that incident."

"Is that so? Poor thing."

Shiro was giving its saddest look and tried to lean against Tsubame's arm. Yamamoto chuckled as he stood up, helping her to stand up as well.

"You'll soon get used to Shiro. Where's your other luggage?"

"The courier service will send it to your apartment. I mean, my parents said I can't carry them on my own."

"Oh, it's fine. Here, let me show you a room for you to sleep and study."

Yamamoto had been bringing Tsubame around his apartment to let her know which was the kitchen, bathroom, balcony and the bedrooms. She was amazed to see his apartment which was just as large as a single storey house and it was much more comfortable. He even had a study room and it was large enough for her to deal with her university assignments.

"If there's anything, you can always ask me."

"Thanks for the tour. I'll try to get used to it."

"No problem. If it is possible, I can fetch you from the university."

"I-It's fine, I can take the bus instead."

"How are you going to carry your stuff on the bus? Plus, it's hard to catch a bus in this area."

"I'm already used to it. I don't want to trouble you so much."

"Tsubame, I don't find it troublesome at all."

"...Takeshi, I-"

"You are not a burden to me. I will help you as who I should be to you."

Tsubame did not mean to ask more from Yamamoto but it was clear enough to say that he wanted to be a good husband. She soon nodded and he simply smiled at her response.

"I'm going to make some tea for you. You can play with Shiro while waiting."

"Sure- wait, hold on."

She opened her small luggage and she took out the black suit before she handed it back to Yamamoto's hands.

"I've been thinking how was I supposed to give it back to you but now you have it," she gave a small smile. "Thank you so much for that day."

"Wow, I forgot about my suit," he laughed as he took it. "I'm going to wear it later though."

"Huh?"

"Nothing. You're welcome and thanks for returning it to me."


	6. memory

Semester break was almost over and Tsubame groaned when she thought of her bulky assignments she was about to face. She needed to deal with it since she was the one wanted to study in the medical field. The career path that her parents complained about. She was a little relieved that she could finally stay further from her nagging parents but stay in someone's place was an awkward thing for her. Yamamoto had been the one asking her a lot whether if she was doing fine or she ever needed anything.

Her mother was right after all. Tsubame felt like she wanted to hide behind her mother because she was even shyer than ever.

"Hey, Tsubame. It's morning now."

She blinked her eyes hard and she only moved her head a little from the table.

"...five more minutes, mum..."

Yamamoto blinked for a moment before he gave a light laugh. He gently shook her shoulder to wake her up once again.

"It's time to wake up, you should not have slept longer..."

"...give me a break...I need to sleep much longer..."

He was not going to give up waking her up and he came up with a mischievous idea. He went near to one of her ears and whispered something to her.

"You are already late to submit your assignment, Miss Kinoshita."

Once she heard it, Tsubame's eyes widened with fear and she quickly sat up. She was rummaging all her books and papers to look for her assignment before it came to her senses that she was still in her semester break. She groaned and turned to look at Yamamoto with her disapproved face.

"You shouldn't have said something like that. What if it did happen to me??"

"Haha, sorry," Yamamoto smiled as he apologised. "I couldn't wake you up, so I have to use this way. I'll figure out a better idea to wake you up next time."

"Better not involving my assignments..." Tsubame muttered. "It's still a holiday for me. Why you want to wake me up?"

"I'm planning to bring you out for breakfast. I haven't eaten yet and I thought it would be a good idea for both of us to eat together."

"E-eat together??" she blinked her eyes several times and she was unsure if she had heard it correctly or not. "You mean like...now?? I haven't wash my face yet."

"Don't worry, just take your time. I'll wait until you're done."

Tsubame did stand up and went straight to the bathroom to refresh her sleepy look. Since this would possibly be her first date with her supposed husband, she needed to pick proper clothes to wear and she seemed dreaded because she was afraid that she would meet someone she knew during her date.

Probably any of her coursemates, lecturers or her relatives. Manaka and Chizuru were on holiday with their family members and only returned on the last day of semester break. Tsubame sighed lightly, thinking that they were so lucky to spend their time with their family while she already 'married' to a former baseball star.

Without wasting any time, she randomly picked a simple blouse and a knee-length skirt. After combing her hair, she left her room and she saw Yamamoto replying his private messages to someone on his phone. Once both of them were ready, he took out another helmet for her as he had planned to ride a motorbike instead of his car. 

"Takeshi, where are we going to have breakfast?" 

"To your favourite place, Tsubame."

"My favourite place?"

"You kept on bugging your parents to bring you to that place again. You still like to eat omelette rice from there, right?"

"That small restaurant owned by the elderly couple?" she began to feel thrilled. "It's been a long time I've gone to that place!"

"We've been there with our family when we were young," he grinned. "Now it's our chance to visit them again."

"You know how to go there?"

"Of course I know. I often visited them to taste their food. We'd better not be late."

Tsubame was rather careful to climb on the motorbike with Yamamoto's help and then had her arms wrapped around his waist for safety. It was only a fifteen minutes ride from his apartment to their destination and she started to remember the same route she used to see when she was just a child. 

The small restaurant was still the same as those times she ate with her parents and Yamamoto with his father. The place itself was filled with regular diners and once both of them went inside, some of them greeted him as if he was their close family member.

"Hello, Takeshi. Same as usual?" asked the elderly woman with her gentle smile.

"Same as usual. Oh, Mrs Sato," he brought Tsubame closer to him and introduced her to the elderly woman named Mrs Sato. "Do you still remember who is this?" 

"Eh? Who could this lovely lady be?" Mrs Sato was squinting both of her eyes, looking at Tsubame. "She looks so familiar."

"She's that little girl who loves to eat your omelette rice, Mrs Sato," Yamamoto replied. "Her name is Kinoshita Tsubame."

"Really??" the elderly woman's smile grew wider. "You're indeed Tsubame-chan, I nearly could not recognise you."

"Uh, well..." Tsubame smiled awkwardly. "I did come here when I was little, but how did you know that girl was me?"

"Well, dear. You are the first to say that my omelette rice is the fluffiest in the world. Because of that, many people often stop by here to try it."

Tsubame was surprised to hear it from Mrs Sato and she honestly could not remember her childhood years well. She was somewhat happy that the elderly woman still could recognise her after many years. Both of them soon take a seat nearby the window and waited as Mrs Sato placed two cups of green tea on their table.

"How do you feel, Tsubame?"

"...It's really surprising for someone who knows me when I was a child still can remember me so well. Plus, I've always wanted to come here after eating Mrs Sato's omelette rice."

"You're saying that this is your second time coming to this place?"

"Yeah, my parents had been way too busy to bring me for a holiday. I've always been to school, tuition and at home. Even if I went out with my friends, I have to return home just in time. All because they were afraid that I would be kidnapped by bad people."

"Seriously? Your parents are way too strict. Uncle Kinoshita that I knew was not like that."

"I don't know. I just have the feeling that they are hiding something from me."

Yamamoto started to feel curious about her parents' overprotectiveness and he remembered what his father told him when he was in middle school. The Kinoshita family had moved to another district nearby the Namimori district with the reason that they wanted to place Tsubame in a private middle school. 

It seemed that her parents refused to mention anything about someone else in the family and he wondered why Tsubame did not say anything about that particular person. Either she did not want to tell or her parents forbid her to say anything. He was tempting to ask when Mrs Sato came to them with their breakfast on the tray. 

Tsubame did not want to waste more time and she started to eat the omelette rice. The moment she took one bite of it, her eyes widened with shock and soon remembered that she ate it when she was young. Yamamoto smiled looking at her reaction as he was glad to bring her to a place that gave her childhood memories. 

He excused himself to make an important phone call and this was when Mrs Sato wanted to ask him some questions. 

"Takeshi, may I ask you some questions?"

"Sure, what do you want to ask?"

"Well, it's about Tsubame-chan. If I am not mistaken, she has an older brother, right?"

"...yes, she does," Yamamoto answered. "I can't believe that you still remember her brother."

"I know I'm already old but not my memory. I remembered that her whole family and both you and your father came here for dinner many years ago."

"I see. Mrs Sato, what do you think about her brother?"

"Her brother, huh?" the elderly woman was in her deep thoughts. "He's highly curious of anything, a picky eater, probably naughty. Last but not least, he loves his little sister so much that he's willing to give her what she wants. Now I wonder what he's been doing..."

"To be honest, I haven't heard of him ever since Tsubame and her parents moved to another state. It's like he never existed at all."

"Dear me, how could you say something like that??"

"It's true. My old man and her parents did not say anything about him. I did not want to ask Tsubame about her brother."

"Why is that so? She knows better, right?"

"Who knows? Even she said that her parents are hiding something from her."

Yamamoto realised that he had been away for too long and he did not want to worry Tsubame. He was about to join her when Mrs Sato asked why it was only both of them but not with their parents. He simply smiled as he answered her question.

"I'm bringing my wife for breakfast. That's all."

* * *

It was the starting of the new semester and it was also the first time Yamamoto bringing Tsubame to her university. She would usually take a bus and she was already imagining the students' reaction if they saw him around. The distance from his apartment to her university was closer compared to her house and she could meet any of the students who lived in the same apartment area. 

Just about one metre away from the university, Yamamoto stopped by at the alley to drop Tsubame on the spot they stood. She took off the helmet and then stared at him with her curious look.

"Why not stopping in front of my university?"

"I figure that you don't want to gain lots of attention because of me," he answered. "You don't want them to know that you're married, right?"

"I guess you're right. I don't want anyone to know especially those bloody twins. Only both of my friends know that I'm married but I can trust them to keep it a secret."

"Hopefully yes," Yamamoto smiled. "Are you sure that you'll be taking a bus back to my apartment? I still can fetch you back if you want."

"Thanks, but I'll be fine. I have other things to do with my friends for these days before I'm ready for training in the hospital."

"Alright," he placed his hand on her head and ruffled her hair gently. "Just don't ever hesitate to call me if you need my help."

Tsubame nodded and she smiled back to him before she walked off to meet her friends. While making sure that she was walking into her university grounds, Yamamoto took out his phone and he saw a missed call notification. He knew who could it be as he made a phone call to Tsuna's Cloud guardian, Hibari Kyoya.

"Hello, did you just call me?"

_"You probably know that I do not like to waste any of my time. Guess which idiot has done it?"_

"Sorry, I have something to settle earlier. Where are you right now?"

_"Outside the hotel lobby. The certain Don Cavallone and that yakuza group are on their way in thirty minutes. Be quick before they arrive."_

"Okay, I'm on my way."

He placed his phone in his pocket and soon sped off away from the university. Tsubame was preoccupied to look for Manaka and Chizuru and she saw both of them walking to their next lesson. Manaka was the first to notice her and she quickly came to her with her excited look.

"Whoa, what is going on here?" Tsubame asked curiously.

"Great news, Tsubame! Almost everyone here knows about this terrific news!" answered Manaka.

"How about just tell me what is it about?"

Chizuru panted a little after joining both of them and was the one to answer Tsubame's question.

"Kuranosuke Sayaka and Matsuoka Nori are officially split up. He's now dating with the younger twin, Sayuri."


	7. invitation

Tsubame knew she missed a lot of things during the semester break but she never expected this to happen all of a sudden. To her, Kuranosuke Sayaka was already good enough for Matsuoka Nori despite her bad attitude towards other girls who tried to get near to her boyfriend. What had happened to both of them that led to their break up? Could it be Sayuri's successful plan to steal Nori from her older twin? 

"That could be possible but no one is going to believe it since everyone knows that Sayuri is a kind-hearted twin," said Chizuru.

"Kind-hearted?" Tsubame snorted. "If she is, she would have stopped Sayaka from cutting up my blouse months ago."

"Now, now, Tsubame. It's better not to keep any grudges with these twins," Manaka spoke up as if she was giving yoga lessons. "Just remember to expel all the negative energies from your mind and your body."

"If you are going to lecture me about the importance of yoga, I'm going to roll you up like a burrito," Tsubame replied with annoyance.

"Burrito? Where is it??" Chizuru's eyes sparkled.

"Did you ever have your breakfast, Chizuru?"

"Oh, I sure did. But once you mentioned food, I will go hungry again."

"Wait till I'm done rolling Manaka up, then you may eat her."

"Excuse me??" Manaka interjected in sudden. "I'm way too skinny to be anyone's food!"

"I'm the one who should say that," Tsubame sighed. "Anyway, what else did you guys hear about Sayaka and Nori's break up?"

"It is only news about their break up but there are more rumours we heard from Nori's fans," said Manaka. "He was the one wanted to break up with her because she cheated on him."

"Cheated on him? Sayaka wouldn't do that unless there's evidence."

"We find it hard to believe until one of our coursemates shared a video clip in her blog," Chizuru scrolled through her phone. "The video was recorded in the bar and Kuranosuke Sayaka was seen working while accompanying some drunken men."

Chizuru was done with the search and showed the video clip to Tsubame. She took the phone from her plump friend and started to watch it. Sayaka was seen wearing clothes that revealed some parts of her body and the makeup on her face made her looked much older than her real age. The way she spoke to those drunken men showed that she was used to it and Tsubame felt like she was looking at another person.

"...I don't know about it but if this woman is indeed Sayaka, why would she working as...GRO?" she asked awkwardly.

"I'm wondering about that too. Her family is damn rich and yet, going out somewhere to work? I agree with that but working as GRO? What is she thinking?" said Chizuru.

"No one knows but there is no way Matsuoka Nori would want to go out with a girl who worked to entertain male guests," concluded Manaka. "Ever since that incident, she rarely comes to attend any classes."

"...I'm going to talk to Nori after the class."

"You want to get murdered by Sayuri?" asked Chizuru. 

"I thought you said she's a kind-hearted girl."

"She's dating with him. If she sees you with him, you know it's not a small business to handle," added Manaka.

"Look, I might be overthinking but what if Sayuri has something to do with her older twin's case?"

"Why in the world you care so much about their affair?" said the plump girl.

"Because Nori is my friend."

"Friend does not mean that you could keep on bugging them about their private life, Tsubame," said Manaka further. "Do you like it if someone keeps on asking you about you and your husband?"

"...no. As if I want to share my personal life with Takeshi."

"Exactly. Nori is probably trying to forget Sayaka and if you ask him again, he will be more stressed."

"Alright, fine," Tsubame groaned. "I'm not a busybody but I just want to know if he's okay or not after the break-up."

"Well, his bandmates announced that they will perform at Tokyo in two months. He's going to be pretty busy with his preparations. Oh, I almost forgot!"

Manaka grabbed her plastic file case and began looking for something. Tsubame was waiting with her curious look until the other took it out from her file case. Manaka was holding two tickets and she passed it to Tsubame with a slight grin on her face.

"Nori had always wanted you to watch his performance and since you have a valid excuse for not attending his concert months back, he wants you to come this time."

"Okay, but why two tickets?"

"One for you and one for your husband."

"The hell?? The other one is for Takeshi?!" Tsubame screeched.

"Who else if it's not him? Don't worry, I told him that you might want to come with a very close friend of yours and he's like 'alright, I'll give another one for her'. That's it."

"He's not stupid enough to be fooled. He would be thinking that I'm coming with my boyfriend."

"Better than he finds out that you're coming with your husband," Chizuru commented. "How long are you going to hide your secret marriage from everyone?"

"As soon as I graduate from university."

"Dear, you're already thirty by that time you graduate," said Manaka.

"Mind you if you could just stop imitating my mum's voice?"

"Hey, it's the truth. Before you could graduate, almost everyone will know about your secret marriage. Whatever, just don't forget to give him that ticket. Would it be nice to watch a performance with someone you love?"

Tsubame was about to argue when she went on to imagine herself giving the ticket to Yamamoto and telling him that they would watch the performance together. The only perfect response she could guess was his cheerful smile and saying that he would love to watch with her. Her cheeks blushed a little when she thought of it before she spoke.

"Sounds like I am the one asking him for a date instead of him."

"I'm sure he will accept your invitation. So, how's the progress between you and him?" asked Manaka.

"We're kind of like still being friends though he helped me a lot. Few days before the new semester started, he brought me to one place for breakfast, saying that I used to go there when I was little."

"Aw, that's so sweet. If only my boyfriend treated me like that," said Manaka with her dreamy look.

"Huh? Since when you have a boyfriend?" Chizuru interrupted.

"I mean if I ever have one." 

"Then go and find one for yourself," Tsubame grinned.

"The guys in this university are mostly nerds. Even if they are hot guys around, they prefer to date with prettier girls."

The three of them soon stopped talking as they decided to attend their next class. Their lecturer eventually informed the students that their names had been submitted to determine which hospital or pharmacies they would go for training. Manaka and Chizuru were hoping that they will be in the same place as Tsubame for the training as a pharmacist.

Tsubame was more focused on Sayaka as she looked around the lecture hall. There was no sign of Kuranosuke Sayaka but Sayuri was somewhere at the corner of the hall with some of her friends. She was seen texting with the excited look on her face and then showed her received a text message to her friends. She could not stop thinking that Sayuri had changed ever since she dated with Nori but for the sake of Chizuru and Manaka, she tried not to interfere with the twins' drama.

In the middle of her class, Tsubame had to excuse herself to go to the washroom. The first person she met in the washroom was surprisingly Sayaka. She was standing in front of the sink and the mirror with a phone in her hands. She looked thinner as if she had not eaten for days and her sunken eyes were quite obvious despite covering with makeup. 

Beside the sink where Sayaka stood was a bottle of mysterious pills. It was the only thing that caught Tsubame's attention.

"Sayaka, are you sick? Is that why you did not attend any classes?"

"Why do you ask, Speckles?" Sayaka growled. "Don't you dare to sympathise with me just because of how I look now."

"I'm not laughing at you just because Nori broke up with you. I just want to know if you are doing fine or not."

"Nori?" her smile twitched. "Who cares about that metalhead assh*le?"

"Look, I don't know what is happening but are you going to give up just like that? I know you still love him ever since he started to go out with you."

"That sh*thead only cares about my bloody twin. I don't need any of your sugarcoated advice, Speckles."

"Hey, I'm being honest here! And why there's a bottle of pills over there?"

Sayaka was stunned and her eyes were glancing at that bottle nearby the sink. She then glared at Tsubame with anger.

"I'm having a stomachache because of the period! Is that what you want to know??"

"Period pain? But that doesn't look like-"

"Don't expect me to be nice to you just because you care about me," Sayaka shoved the pill bottle in her bag and walked past Tsubame before she spoke. "I'm f*cking late for my appointment at the nail salon thanks to you, Speckles!"

Tsubame watched her walking out from the washroom and soon disappeared from her sight. Since she had studied a lot about medicines, she completely knew that the pills Sayaka was carrying around were not meant for period pain.

She will need to find out what pill was that before she would talk to Nori about it.

* * *

"Sorry for not answering your call, Tsuna. It took a lot of time to deal with those yakuza members."

_"I honestly feeling worried when you or Kyoya didn't answer the call. What is happening?"_

"The negotiation was going pretty well until when one of the yakuza members secretly tried to stab Don Cavallone from behind. We found out that it was a trap set by the yakuza leader. He had wanted to kill him to gain control over something important in the black market. Don Cavallone could manage to defeat them but more of them were coming. So both me and Hibari had to interfere to protect him from getting hurt."

_"Where is Dino right now?"_

"He's now resting at Hibari's house before he booked another flight back to Italy tomorrow. I was the one suggested him to stay at his house in case if those yakuza members were trying to find him."

_"...if I knew this might happen, I could have stopped Dino."_

"Is there anything wrong, Tsuna?"

_"Kyoya told me everything about that yakuza family. The Yoru Clan is so famous and I heard that this clan has about ten thousand members, still counting. These members are following their superiors' orders and enjoying the privileges given by the clan leader. Despite their involvement with the black market and crimes, they are treated like an important guest among the politicians."_

"You're saying that if they kill Don Cavallone...then they have the chance to take over the black market activities in Italy?"

_"Yes, and they could do more than that if they successfully killed Dino. By the way, what happened next after both of you interfered?"_

"We were busy dealing with those yakuza members. Until I did something that probably evoked the member's fury."

_"What did you do, Takeshi?"_

"The yakuza leader nearly killed Hibari and I have to attack him. He was heavily injured and the three of us took this chance to escape as quickly as we could."

Yamamoto knew that someday, he would end up taking people's lives with his sword he inherited from his father. He knew it ever since he officially joined the Vongola Famiglia. He could not regret it because he chose this path. He was still on the phone while glancing at his clothes and his sword that was covered with blood.

_"Takeshi, where are you now?"_

"I'm on my way back to the apartment. Tsubame would start to worry if I didn't return home."

_"Well, go home then. At the time like this, maybe she could cheer you up. Just make sure that you don't return with the mess you have or she would be alarmed."_

"Thanks, Tsuna. Are you sure you don't want me to return to Italy?"

_"It's fine. Kyoya would return with Dino and he could report it to me about that case. If anything, I will tell you to return when I need you."_

"Okay, send my regards to our fellow friends."

The Rain Guardian placed his phone back in his pocket and his only choice was to go back to his father's home to change his clothes. 

He was even more reluctant to tell the mafia stuff to Tsubame.


	8. learn

"Hey, are you the one staying in that apartment?"

Another resident who stayed just opposite Yamamoto's place was calling out for Tsubame. She looked at him curiously as she was about to look for the keys to open the door. She probably realised that she did not get to know anyone else in the apartment.

"Y-yeah, I am. What can I do for you?"

"There is a package delivered to your place but no one is around. So, I helped you to receive it if you don't mind."

"Oh, thank you for your great help!" Tsubame replied as she smiled at her new neighbour. "May I have that package, please?"

"Sure, just give me a second," he said before he went back into his apartment to get the package. "Here you go. That reminds me, are you new here? I don't remember seeing you around."

"I just moved in here. I'm currently staying with someone."

"You mean the one who stayed in that apartment?" an amused smile was formed at his lips. "I didn't know he had a girlfriend."

Tsubame's cheeks quickly turned red and she was not going to tell him that Yamamoto was her husband.

"M-Maybe. You know him for a long time?"

"I've been here for a year but I did not have a chance to talk to him since he's often not around. I heard that he's working overseas."

"Yeah, he is. Guess his boss is giving him a well-deserving break."

He thought of asking for her name when he received a phone call. He excused himself and went back into his apartment, leaving Tsubame alone. She sighed and she hastily took out the key from her bag before opening the door. The one that gave her a sudden shock was Shiro's loud bark, caused her to drop all her things on the floor.

"Ugh, Shiro," she groaned and knelt to pick up her things. "Try not to bark so loud when I'm not looking, you're giving me a heart attack."

The dog made a sad noise and it was giving its apologetic look. Tsubame was staring at Shiro and she felt bad for making the dog feeling guilty. She placed her hand on its head and gently ruffled its fur.

"Sorry for scolding you. It's just that, I did not expect that you would come to see me."

Shiro soon felt happy as it was wagging its tail before walking to another room. Tsubame noticed that Yamamoto was not in his apartment and she was guessing that he had something important to do. After placing all her things in the study room, she checked the package thoroughly and soon found out that her mother was the one send it to her.

Coincidentally, her mother called before Tsubame could try opening the package.

"Hello, Ame-chan," her mother greeted warmly. "How are you feeling?"

"Kinda tired..." Tsubame replied as she sat on the chair. "I just got back from my campus. And I received a package from mum."

"Oh, is that so? That's fast, did you open the package?"

"I am about to open it. What's inside?"

"Hmm, why don't you try to guess it out?"

Tsubame's eyes were squinting curiously. Something was off once she caught her mother's tone of speaking.

"Is it...a _sleeping gown_?" 

"Aha, you're right!" her mother announced loudly. "I bought you the hottest _sleeping gown_ just for you!"

"Mum, I'm not going to wear that thing!!" Tsubame screeched and her whole face turned red. "Why would mum bought that such thing anyway?? Takeshi and I are not even married yet!"

"Relax, Ame-chan..." her mother tried to stop laughing after imagining her daughter's reaction. "It's a joke and you're the one who starts to think of that answer, not me."

"Ugh, what is it then? Not other nasty things, right?"

"I think you are the one who is excited to marry than me and your father. Anyway, inside the package are all cookbooks. I figured out that you might need it someday."

"I don't even know how to cook," Tsubame groaned. "And I don't have time to cook at all."

"That is exactly why I give those books to you," her mother said sternly. "Take-away foods are much costly than you cook on your own. Plus, it's healthier. Didn't you learn about balanced diet from your courses?"

"Alright, I get it. I try to cook some when I'm free."

"I'm glad to hear that. By the way, did Takeshi treat you nicely? It's been like more than a month you stay at his apartment."

"He's nice. I mean, he could be anyone's perfect husband. He even took me to Mrs Sato's place for breakfast."

"Huh? Who's Mrs Sato?"

"The owner of a small cafe. The one whom I mentioned that her omelette rice was the best in the world."

"Oh, Mrs Sato! Now I remembered, It's been so long that I completely forgot about her."

"Takeshi mentioned that we were all used to eat at her place. Is it true?"

"It's true, Ame-chan. We were at there together. Even your-"

Her mother stopped talking and Tsubame could hear the door open through the phone. 

"Your father is back from work. I think I should stop here. Just remember to cook for Takeshi, okay?"

"H-hey, mum-"

The call ended and Tsubame's eyebrows raised with her annoyed look. She knew her mother was about to talk about someone but she refused to say so. Was it because of her father, she was unable to tell her anything about that particular person?

Confused, Tsubame went out from her room and took out a small pot to boil some water. The only simplest thing she could do was a bowl of mushroom soup and some ingredients were enough for her and Yamamoto. At the same time, she was listening to the recent news from the radio and the latest news soon caught her attention. 

_"...news update. The Yoru Clan leader was suffering from a serious injury after he and his members were involved in a brutal fight earlier this afternoon. The fight erupted after a failed negotiation with a foreigner businessman and the leader's right-hand man is making sure that he and the members of the clan will hunt down their leader's possible attacker."_

_"This is unforgivable. Who would ever try to hurt someone important, the one who helped the poor citizens, the one who donated the most money to the victims of natural disasters? I swear to God that no matter what happens, I will make sure that I will catch that attacker."_

_"The family members are unable to speak for a moment as they wished to have more privacy..."_

Tsubame stopped whatever she was doing when she heard the clan leader's right-hand man's words. He sounded ambitious, determined and protective. He was strangely similar to someone that she knew in her life.

She spaced out and her hand accidentally touched the boiling pot. She screamed with pain and she was gripping her scalded hand tightly. It was even more painful when she did that. Shiro came out and was worried to see her condition.

"Tsubame! Are you in there?!"

She heard Yamamoto's panic voice outside the apartment. Shiro ran towards the door and was barking without stopping. He managed to open the door and placed his sports bag on the sofa before running to the kitchen. The moment he saw her scalded hand, he turned off the gas stove and pulled her to the nearest kitchen sink.

"Don't grip your hand like that, you'll hurt even more," Yamamoto said quickly as he took her scalded hand and put under the cool running water tap. 

Tsubame flinched and she nearly cried as she could not resist the pain from her hand. Yamamoto noticed the pain she had to endure and soon placing his hand onto her shoulder to calm her down.

"It's alright, Tsubame," he spoke in a soft voice. "This pain will fade soon enough, so just bear with it for a while."

She slowly nodded her head and she tried her best not to think about her scalded hand. If it was not because of his quick action, she would end up staying in the hospital. Minutes had passed and Tsubame was brought back to her room while Yamamoto went to look for the first aid kit. He returned later and he started to bandage her hand.

"I'm sorry, Takeshi," Tsubame spoke out.

"Why are you apologising for?"

"For worrying and troubling you. I wanted to cook something for you but I end up getting hurt."

Yamamoto gave a light chuckle and he smiled at her. 

"I'm happy to hear that you are going to cook something for me. However, I am just glad to see you safe. Your safety is more important than anything else." 

He was about to finish wrapping her hand when she could see his tired look. Was he going overboard with his work until he was exhausted?

"You look tired. Is everything okay?" she asked with concern.

"Hm? Me? I'm fine here, there is nothing to worry about."

"I mean, you come back late. Or you are way too focused on the baseball game until you forget to return home?"

"Haha, you got me," he replied with his nervous smile. "Maybe next time, I should wear a watch to see the time."

"If you want to do something you want, it's fine. Just please, take good care of yourself."

"I will. And for now, you should get a rest. I'll do the cleaning instead."

Tsubame smiled at him and she decided to sleep for the whole night. Yamamoto leaned and he gently pecked her forehead before he left her room. He let out a small sigh and he went to grab his sports bag he left on the sofa. He unzipped it and there were his clothes with the bloodstain on it. It would take some time for him to wash it without Tsubame's knowledge. 

"I'm sorry, Tsubame. I lied to you." 

* * *

Manaka and Chizuru were the ones to help Tsubame writing down the notes given by the lecturer after learning about her scalded hand. They first teased her of being clumsy and Chizuru stated that Tsubame would often space out. 

"Thankfully, your dear husband came back right in time or you would be screaming like you've seen a ghost story," said Manaka with a grin on her face.

"My mother would be so thankful if my father is just as sweet as your husband," Chizuru commented before she took a bite of her biscuit. 

"Look, you would be freaked out if I got hurt," Tsubame said with her cross look. "Luckily it's just a minor injury."

"I would not be surprised if you mistook the iron for a telephone," Manaka giggled. "I feel so sorry for your ears."

"Are you trying to curse me??"

"Ahaha, I'm sorry!" Manaka quickly answered. "I did not have that such intention."

"Sounds like yes," Tsubame sighed. "Whatever, let us get this done. I'm going to get hungry soon."

They continued writing down the notes when Chizuru's eyes were more focused at the other campus's rooftop. She saw someone standing near the wire fence and to her surprise, it was Sayaka.

"Hey, guys. Sayaka is standing at that campus's rooftop."

"Huh? That older twin?" Manaka asked as she turned to look at Chizuru's direction. "Oh, what is she doing up there? Enjoying the university's scenery?"

Tsubame was looking as well and she could see Sayaka's face. Her face was tired and pale. Even worse than the last time they met in the washroom.

She had a bad feeling about it. She had to do something.

"What's wrong, Tsubame?"

Without answering Manaka's question, she stood up from her seat and she started to run to that campus. Her other two friends were curious and worried, they decided to follow her from behind.

Despite the tiredness after running, she managed to reach the rooftop and she saw Sayaka standing near the fence. She was going to climb over and Tsubame harshly pulled her away, causing the other to fall on the floor.

"Ouch! What the hell are you doing?!" Sayaka yelled with fury and Tsubame just stared at her with her disapproved look.

"I'm doing what I think is the right thing to do. You will need to explain to me everything, Kuranosuke Sayaka. Everything."


	9. talk

For the sake to know Sayaka's serious condition, Tsubame and her two friends were willing to skip one last class and making sure that the other would not jump off from the rooftop. Though the older twin was annoyed with their presence, she secretly felt so glad that she was given another chance to continue living. 

"Leave me alone. Don't skip classes because of me," Sayaka grumbled.

"And what are you going to do? Learn to fly like those pigeons?" said Manaka as she crossed her arms on her chest. "You should be lucky that we managed to stop you from doing something stupid. I didn't see anyone trying to do the same thing we did to you."

"Who would want to help me? Everyone knows that I cheated on Nori and they sent me lots of threatening messages. I just can't take it and I wanted to be alone."

Tsubame was looking at Sayaka and had been realising that she had turned into a different person after she broke up with Nori. Chizuru already went off to get some refreshments while Manaka was making sure that no other people would enter the rooftop. It was Tsubame's turn to talk to the older twin. 

"Honestly, I still think that you could not forget Nori. If you love him so much, you would not cheat on him."

"Well, I did, right?!" Sayaka snapped. "Does that mean I don't love him??"

"No, I'm trying to say that you did not cheat on him."

"Why would you say like that??"

"Let me ask you something. Where were you during Nori's concert at the town's mall?"

"...I'm working."

"Working? You mean working in that bar exactly in the viral video months ago?"

The older twin clicked her tongue and gritted her teeth with anger. She stood up and looked up at the sky before she answered Tsubame's question.

"I thought nothing would happen after I cut your blouse in the mall. I was just unfortunate when my father had returned from overseas. He heard about the ruckus I made in that mall and he yelled at me, humiliated me in front of everyone in the house. As a punishment, I was made to work in that bar to show how does it feel to be harassed by other people like how I harass you."

"I get that but why working in the bar instead of other decent places?"

"My family owns a large number of bars and casinos in this area, so most of my relatives are working in these places. I even told my sister to keep it secret from Nori and look what she did to me at the end. I wished that she is not my sister."

"I guess Sayuri not only showed the video to Nori but also fabricate a rumour that you did something with those drunken men."

"Exactly! I tried to explain to him but he refused to see me at all! He looked at me as if I do deserve working as a prostitute and I never cared about his feelings!"

Sayaka could not hold it longer and she started to cry. Tsubame and Manaka went to her and they merely let her cry as loud as she wanted to. Chizuru soon returned with a bag of refreshments and passed a bottle of apple juice to Tsubame. She opened it and gave it to Sayaka before she spoke out.

"I'm sorry to hear that. I have nothing to say about your father's actions but I could not agree with your sister's actions. Though she wanted to steal Nori from you."

"I'm being a fool for underestimating her," the older twin replied as she took the apple juice. "I've never thought she would be more cunning."

"We never knew it too," added Manaka. "Tsubame said that she overheard Sayuri's plan to make sure that you are not coming to Nori's concert."

Sayaka coughed in sudden when she heard Manaka's sentences.

"Why none of you tell me about this??"

"Hey, if we tell, you won't listen to us. Besides, we do not want to get involved with you and your sister's drama," said Chizuru.

The older twin went silent and she looked away from the three of them. She had found out about Sayuri's plan but to her, it was already too late. 

"I decided to forget Nori. I'm tired of all these sh*ts."

"That fast?" Manaka blinked with surprise. "Or you just want to stay positive?"

"I have other things to worry more than him. I'm going to visit my grandfather in the hospital."

"Huh? What happened to your grandfather?" Chizuru asked.

"I don't know. It's an emergency call from my driver," Sayaka replied bluntly and she was walking towards the exit. "I hope he's alright."

Tsubame and the other two watched her walking off from the rooftop before they were shrugging their shoulders.

"She's going to forget her boyfriend? I'll give her three days," said Manaka.

"Nah, I'll go for one day. She's not going to give up on him easily," Chizuru replied.

"It's no longer our business if she wanted to forget him or not," Tsubame sighed. "She's worried about her grandfather, could it be that both of them are so close?"

"We are not her sister or her cousin, how should we know?"

* * *

Yamamoto was in his apartment and he had been watching the news update to know more about the Yoru Clan. The clan leader was still in the hospital but his condition was better than before. The Rain Guardian was rather lucky that none of the clan members could recognise him or Hibari during the fight. It was the leader's right-hand man's mistake in choosing a dark, dim place for the meeting with Don Cavallone. 

He was planning to fetch Tsubame from her campus later and he decided to take a short nap. He placed his phone on the table and soon dozed off on the sofa. 

Even a short nap could give him a longer dream he could remember. Back to his childhood years.

He was swinging his baseball bat several times at the park while waiting for his father who was discussing with his guests. He was too preoccupied and only realised that someone had been watching him after he stopped swinging his baseball bat. A shy and timid little girl with short black hair was still having a hard time to talk to Yamamoto despite they had met each other several times.

_"Is there anything I can help you, Tsubame?"_

_"...I...I want to...ask you...something..."_

_"Oh, what is it?"_

_"...I-I've lost it."_

_"Lost? Did you lose something?"_

The girl named Tsubame nodded nervously.

_"My...my teddy bear is missing. Did you...see it?"_

_"Um, no. I didn't see it. Where is the last time you see your teddy bear?"_

_"At...at the bench. Now I don't know where is it..."_

She looked like she had been scolded for getting a non-satisfactory grade in her exam and Yamamoto merely flashed a bright smile at her.

_"No worries, I can help you to find your teddy bear."_

_"You'll...help me?"_

_"Of course I am. That teddy bear is important to you, right?"_

Even when the younger Tsubame insisted that she would find it on her own, Yamamoto was willing to help and they started to walk around the park to look for it. They searched every part of it until he saw a dog carrying something with its mouth. Tsubame did saw it too and she was about to run towards the dog before Yamamoto stopped her.

_"Hold on. If we run, that dog will run as well. We're not able to catch up with it."_

_"T-then, how? I want my teddy bear back..."_

_"I'll try to get it back, okay?"_

He took out a baseball from his pocket and he called out for that dog to look at him. When the dog's eyes were looking at the baseball, it looked rather excited while wagging its tail. Yamamoto then threw the baseball as further as he could and the dog was chasing in that direction, dropping the teddy bear at the same time. Tsubame did not want to wait any longer as she went to pick up her stuff.

_"That teddy bear is yours, right?"_

She nodded and hugged her toy tightly.

_"...thanks..."_

_"No problem."_

_"...what about your baseball? Don't you want it back?"_

_"It's fine, I was about to throw it away."_

_"...sorry. Because of me, you...you have to throw that ball away."_

_"Hey, you don't have to say sorry. I did this with my own will."_

Both of them soon exchanged their smiles and Yamamoto admitted that she indeed had a cute smile. Before he could talk further, another boy who was much older than Tsubame came running towards them. He was frowning with worry and he did glare at Yamamoto as if he did not trust him at all. Yamamoto noticed that the older boy and Tsubame were having similar looks.

_"Tsubame, how many times I've told you not to run off anywhere? You're worrying me, you know?"_

_"...I'm sorry, big brother. I...I'm looking for my missing teddy bear."_

_"I can get a new one for you rather than you running around to look for it. Mum and dad are going to nag us soon enough."_

_"I...I don't want a new one. You gave it to me as my birthday gift, right?"_

The older boy was speechless and he started to feel guilty. He could not believe that she treasured it so much that she would risk herself to find it.

_"...fine. As long as you're safe, it's fine. Can we go now? Mum and dad are looking for us."_

The younger Tsubame nodded her head once and she let her brother hold her hand. She did turn her head to look at Yamamoto and she gave him a small smile to thank him.

Her older brother was quite protective and did not trust anyone easily. That was the last time Yamamoto saw her brother and never heard from him again. Tsubame's parents were keeping so many secrets from their daughter, which means that they were the only ones who knew why he was no longer around.

His phone rang loudly and he immediately woke up from his nap. He took his phone and answered the call without knowing the caller's identity.

"Hello, Yamamoto Takeshi speaking here."

_"Hello, Takeshi. I'm now waiting at my campus's entrance gate. Where are you?"_

"Oh, sorry! I was sleeping," he stood up quickly and he took a motorbike key. " I'm coming right now, just wait for me, okay?"

_"Okay, be careful."_

He ended the call and he started to ride all his way to Tsubame's university campus. He nearly arrived and stopped by at the alley before he took out his phone to call Tsubame. 

"Your grandfather is in stable condition. I am sure that he will be leaving the hospital soon."

"You should have said that to my older sister, Hiroto. I don't think he ever cares about me."

Yamamoto heard a small conversation nearby and he saw a young man who appeared to be Sayuri's driver. Both of them were still standing outside the black limousine and he could not help listening to them.

"Sayuri, you need to stop acting like a child asking for more presents. Stealing your sister's boyfriend is already bad enough and now you are trying to humiliate her again?"

"I'm not done with her yet, so I will do whatever I can to bring her down."

"Your father loves you more than Sayaka. If you do not want to stress up your father again, then you should stop with all this nonsense. Remember that your father is one of the most important members of the-"

"Fine, fine, I get it. You nag as much as my dead mother. No wonder why my grandfather decided to take you in as a part of my family's clan."

The Rain Guardian froze after Sayuri mentioned about her family's clan. The first thing that came into his mind was the Yoru Clan but he shook his head hard. Maybe she belonged to another famous clan in Japan, there was no other way she was from the Yoru Clan.

"Takeshi, are you alright?"

He quickly looked up and he was surprised with Tsubame's presence. She indeed saw him waiting at the alley and she had been wondering why he did not call her after he arrived. The black limousine was gone from his sight.

"Sorry, I'm still a little sleepy," he simply smiled at her. "I probably overworked with my daily exercise."

"Geez, don't make me giving you a painkiller for any muscle pain."

"Anyway, are you hungry? Maybe we could have dinner somewhere in the town area."

"...a little. Is it going to be our...date?"

Yamamoto winked at her, passing the helmet to her arms.

"You bet. This will be our second date."


	10. caller

Tsubame's mother was doing her usual housework and she would soon prepare dinner before her husband returned from work. The house was much quieter ever since Tsubame moved out to stay at Yamamoto's apartment. She smiled to herself, thinking that it was rather a successful arranged marriage between her daughter and Tsuyoshi's son. She and her husband had already set a proper date for them to engage and she would need to tell Tsubame about the engagement. 

The moment when she was going to start washing the dishes after preparing the food, the phone rang loudly in the living hall. She placed the dirty dishes back in the sink and she quickly went into the living hall to answer the call.

"Hello, Mrs Kinoshita speaking here."

The caller did not say anything for the first few seconds. She could only hear some rustling trees in the wind from the phone. 

"Um, hello? Is anyone there?"

Again, no voice from the mysterious caller. It was probably a prank call from the naughty children and she let out a light sigh.

"It's just a prank call," she muttered and she was about to place the phone back on the table. 

"...mum, it's me..." the caller finally spoke out after a long silence. The voice was cold and rather deep, it belonged to a male caller.

Many years had passed and she still could recognise the owner of that voice. She nearly cried. She wanted to see him so badly after hearing his voice. 

She had been thinking of him ever since the incident that endangered young Tsubame's life. Because of that incident, he was disowned by his father and was never allowed to step into the Kinoshita family ever again. 

"Is...is that you, Taka-kun?" she asked with a shaky tone.

"Yes, it's me," the caller named Takaharu replied. "How is mum doing?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine..." she answered sadly. "...but I would be much happier if you could come back home."

"I can't. I'm no longer a member of the Kinoshita family. You heard it from dad, right?"

"No, you're still a family. Your father was way too angry that time, he didn't mean to say something like that."

"Of course he should be angry at me. After all, I nearly endanger Tsubame's life."

"Taka-kun, you would never hurt your little sister. You did everything to protect her."

"Yes, but it was my fault in the first place. If Tsubame knows about it, she's not going to forgive me. I don't deserve to be her brother."

She pursed her lips tightly as she slowly remembering the day when Takaharu had caused a deep trouble years before he was disowned.

He was heavily involved with gangsterism once he entered middle school and instantly became famous in high school. So famous that a teenage boy around his age came to challenge Takaharu. The boy was coming from another famous clan and rumour said that he was unbeatable. Without knowing that boy's true identity, Takaharu blindly accepted his challenge and nearly lost.

Even worse, he was taking care of his sister at the same time.

The boy knew he was about to win and he mentioned that he would like to take Tsubame as his wife. Enraged, Takaharu severely injured that boy and he managed to escape along with his sister. Mr Kinoshita was furious and soon disowned Takaharu before he, along with his wife and his daughter moved to another district to avoid being caught by that clan's leader.

"I have been trying to convince your father to forgive you so that you can return home but he just could not do it. Besides, I don't think that clan members would find you-"

"Mum, the Kamakiri clan never forgives anyone who hurt them. They can't let me go, so returning home is not a good idea for me. I would rather let them catch me than catching my own family."

"How long are you going to keep on hiding?"

"...I don't know."

"I mean, if you could, you would be able to see your sister getting married to someone she loves."

"Wait, Tsubame is getting married? I thought she's still studying."

"Your father and I decided to carry on with the arranged marriage and she's now living with her soon-to-be husband."

"Mum, you told me that it was a joke," Takaharu's tone was getting colder. "You said it was just a joke."

"I have to say that so you would not keep on bugging me to stop this marriage-"

"How could you do that to Tsubame??" Takaharu snapped. "She's still young and you didn't give her a chance to find her love partner. And who's that person she's marrying with anyway??"

"Taka-kun, this is also your father's decision and she will marry with Yamamoto Takeshi. I believe you know who is he."

She heard a loud groan from the phone and it was clear that he was annoyed.

"Oh, God. From everyone in the world, why must be that baseball freak?"

"Don't insult Takeshi like that. Why are you being so negative about him?"

"Because I don't trust him, that's all."

"You don't trust him?" she blinked her eyes, looked confused. " What are you talking about? He's the nicest person I've seen."

"I heard rumours that he and his friends were playing some sort of dangerous games in their middle school. Not only that, but he's also always carrying a sword whenever he was."

"If you are talking about the bamboo sword, then you have forgotten that his father owns a dojo."

"Mum? You still defending that guy rather than my statement?"

"I refuse to believe that Takeshi is a bad person. From all these pathetic excuses you made about him, it is obvious that you are jealous of him."

Takaharu soon stopped talking and went silent for seconds long. She realised that she had made a big mistake.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that-"

"It's fine. I guess he could be Tsubame's good husband. She is better off to have no brother at all."

"Wait, Taka-kun!"

She flinched when the call ended with a loud thud. She knew he was angry especially when she often made a comparison between him and Yamamoto Takeshi. 

After she made her mistake, she would not be able to hear his voice again.

"Is there anything wrong?"

She turned her head to see her husband's return, still with his working suit. She did not know how long he had been standing there but she was hoping that he did not hear Takaharu's voice from the phone.

"Nothing, I received a phone call from my old friend. So, we've been talking for the whole time."

"I see. Is dinner ready? I'm going to get hungry soon."

"Give me a moment. I'll reheat all the dishes and rice."

* * *

Unlike any other couple who preferred to have dinner at the exquisite restaurant, Yamamoto chose to have dinner at a small restaurant. He brought Tsubame to one place where he used to eat with his friends during his middle school years. 

"How's the food here, Tsubame?" he asked and the other nodded with satisfaction.

"Much better than any other food served in my private middle school," she answered as she grinned.

"Really? I'm glad you like it," Yamamoto smiled and later noticed a grain of rice sticking near Tsubame's lips. "Hold on, there's something on your face."

"Eh? My face?"

Without answering, he proceeded to remove that rice gently with his thumb. She blinked her eyes and feeling quite embarrassed when he did it. Some young women in the restaurant were eyeing at them with interest, thus wishing that their partner would do the same as Yamamoto did. 

"Um...thanks, Takeshi."

"It's nothing, no need to thank me for that," he replied while wiping off his hands with a napkin. "You mentioned that you attended a private middle school instead of a public middle school?"

"Yeah, but it wasn't my choice. My dad placed me there, saying that I would be able to concentrate on my studies better than in public school," she sipped a glass of water. "By the way, it was the all-girls school."

"Sounds pretty stressful to be in the all-girls school."

"My dad doesn't like the idea for me to mix with boys, another reason why I should be in that school. In the end, I had the culture shock when I started to enter university."

Yamamoto nodded as he listened to Tsubame. He instantly remembered that Haru also attended a private girls school but her father was not as strict as Tsubame's father. 

"Tsubame, I've been meaning to ask you something."

"Hm? What do you want to ask?"

"I know this is rather private to ask. You do have an older brother, right?"

Tsubame accidentally dropped her spoon and quickly apologised. She was quite surprised that someone finally mentioned her missing brother.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have asked-"

"No, it's fine. I thought you never asked."

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"I thought you don't want to ask about my brother. I mean, mentioning about him is a taboo in my family. There was once when I wanted to know where was my brother, my dad started to throw whatever he was holding and my mum would send me to bed without a word."

"...I didn't know that. Your brother had done something bad to make your father angry, right?"

"That is the only answer I could accept," she sighed. "I didn't know what he had done since my parents refused to say more about him. I was not able to trace him back even when I wanted to contact him secretly."

He only knew some information about her missing brother and he decided not to ask further. 

"Oh, I nearly forgot something," Tsubame took out a pair of tickets and gave one to Yamamoto. "This one is for you, Takeshi."

"For me?" he blinked as he took it. "Is it a movie ticket?"

"No, it's a ticket to watch my friend's concert. He wanted me to watch once but I had to decline it back then. He said that this concert is important because he was going to another country after qualifying in the final song contest."

"Sounds great, I can't wait to see it," he smiled. "I heard that you will start your training as a pharmacist in the hospital, is it true?"

"Yeah, probably in a few months. I've submitted my name along with my other friends' names and we're waiting for the result. Why do you ask?"

"Our parents already set a date for our engagement-"

"T-that fast??"

"You didn't know?"

"I can't believe that my parents never told me about-" she muttered while searching for her phone in her bag and she could not find it. "Ugh, maybe I left it at home..."

"Gosh, you are pretty busy with your studies," Yamamoto added. "Don't worry about it. We're almost done eating and we could head home fast."

"I'm sure my dad will nag me for not answering his calls."

The Rain Guardian was about to pay for the dinner bill when a certain tall waiter came to their table with a tray of desserts. He placed the desserts on their table and he flashed a charming smile at Tsubame.

"Ciao, you must be Yamamoto Takeshi's future wife. Am I right?" the waiter asked with his deep voice.

"Huh??" she flinched with shock, staring at that waiter with her confused look. "H-how did you know that, mister??"

"I know everything," he replied and a smirk was formed on his lips before he whispered. "After all, I am the world's greatest hitman."

Yamamoto was nearly jealous at the waiter who tried to flirt at Tsubame until he saw those significant sideburns. There was only one person who had those sideburns and it was none other than Tsuna's former home tutor. The waiter then turned around to see him instead, still having the same smirk on his face.

"We meet again, Takeshi."


	11. tutor

"How did you end up working as a waiter?"

"I'm an expert in cosplay, Takeshi. If Tsuna is here, he could tell that I'm simply pretending like someone else."

"So you purposely giving me a surprise appearance with that way? 

Reborn shot a small grin as he was amused by Yamamoto's question. He was currently at his apartment to discuss some important things while Tsubame was in her room to talk with her father with her phone. 

"She still did not know anything about the mafia?"

"No, I haven't told her any of it. I did not want to give more pressure to her since she had been busy with her studies."

"The situation might be worse if she found out on her own."

"I know. I'm trying to find the right time to tell her the whole truth. I don't think her parents know about me getting involved with the mafia."

"You better tell or she would start to boycott by not doing any single housework."

Yamamoto laughed lightly. He instantly remembered when Kyoko and Haru decided not to do any chores when they were not allowed to know anything about the mafia ten years ago. Tsubame might di the same but it would be worse than both of them. 

"So, did you come here on your own or Tsuna send you here?"

"Both," Reborn answered as he took a sip of espresso. "Tsuna has always wanted to come here to see you and his own family. You need to understand that he has a lot of work to do."

"Of course I know that. I mean, he's the Vongola boss after all."

"I'm glad to hear that. Now, I am here to talk about the Yoru Clan who did try to assassinate Don Cavallone."

The former home tutor took out an envelope from his suit pocket and he placed it on the table. The address was written for Dino Cavallone and Yamamoto was staring intently at the envelope.

"The sender would be from the Yoru Clan, right?"

"That's right. However, the content itself does not look like it was written by the Yoru Clan leader himself."

"Why is that so?"

"After that incident, Dino was staying over at Kyoya's house before he booked his flight back to Sicily. He still had the letter with him and he showed it to Kyoya. The Yoru Clan may be a powerful organisation but they do not directly show their violence. The content in the letter sounded menacing and the writer was probably expecting something bad to happen."

"You mean, the original writer purposely wanted to create a riot?"

"Yes. The original writer also could have written the same letter to the Yoru Clan leader under Dino's name. If you ever remember how Daemon Spade created a huge conflict between the Vongola and the Shimon ten years ago."

"Yeah, I get that. In this case, the writer was involving two countries to fight each other."

"If, Dino got himself killed during that incident," Reborn sighed. "This is just a beginning. The writer's first plan failed, so they might go on with their next plan. Their motive is still unclear for now." 

"I agree. The news update even mentioned that the clan leader was survived from the attack."

"The clan leader did not see your face, right?"

"He did not, but I guess he knew Hibari since he was aiming to attack him."

"You don't need to worry about Kyoya. He knows what to do once he returns to Japan."

The door was open and Tsubame looked like she was being scolded by her father. Yamamoto stood up and he tried to cheer her up. 

"Is uncle Kinoshita being too harsh with you, Tsubame?"

"I...I don't know," she sighed. "It feels like being scolded for trying to talk with the boys from another school."

Reborn snorted, trying not to laugh out loud. The two of them were looking at him curiously and he simply gave an apologetic smile. 

"Sorry for being rude, Miss Kinoshita. Your father must be really strict."

"Way too strict," she explained. "I was forced to go to the private school for girls, I was not allowed to talk to the boys or giving my phone number to them, I was not allowed to watch any romance movies because he was afraid that I would be seeing two characters touching and kissing each other- Ughh! I got scolded for all this nonsense!"

"Tsubame, it's fine. Your father is giving what is best for you," Yamamoto calmly spoke. 

"I'm being treated like a prisoner, how is that the best for me??"

"I get that. Don't get mad..." he whispered at her ear and he gently rubbed her hair to soothe her feelings. She slowly went silent and she felt comfortable. "I'll talk to your father so that he would not scold you again, okay?"

"...I don't want to trouble you, Takeshi."

"Nah, I'm fine with it," Yamamoto smiled brightly. "I'll go and get something for you to drink."

Once he went to the kitchen, Tsubame sat on the couch and she was facing Reborn. She lowered her upper body to bow at him, feeling quite embarrassed after she snapped in front of him.

"Sorry for my behaviour, Mr-"

"Just call me Reborn," the hitman tilted his head. "Parents are pretty protective of their children. Trust me, Miss Kinoshita. I've seen worse than what your father had done to you."

"...okay, Reborn," she smiled nervously. "I'm Kinoshita Tsubame, soon to be Takeshi's fiancee, or wife, to be exact."

"Nice to meet you, Tsubame. You are aware that I was once Takeshi's home tutor, right?"

"Oh, he did tell me. I just did not expect to see you here."

"Unexpected meeting. While we try to get to know each other, let us play a simple game."

"A simple game? What is it?"

Reborn's lips curved into a smirk as he placed a revolver on the table. Tsubame's face went pale when she saw the revolver and she mentally thinking if it was a real or a fake one. 

"Do you know about Russian roulette rules?"

* * *

Sayaka was waiting for her driver to fetch her from the campus. Unlike her twin sister, she had to take extra classes that she had missed earlier ever since her breakup with Matsuoka Nori. She no longer wanted to approach Nori and she only wanted to help her grandfather to pack his necessary things from the hospital.

Her grandfather was the most caring person she had ever seen despite being a stern and ruthless yakuza leader. His leadership was what made the Yoru Clan most influential organisation among others. However, after he was attacked when he and his loyal followers were attempting to kill Dino Cavallone, Sayaka's father was desperate to try taking over his place.

He was not the only one wanted to take over. The superiors were most likely to get this chance to be the next leader if Sayaka's grandfather could not survive from his serious injuries. 

She only wanted him to be safe. He would be the one to tell her father not to send his daughter to work in such an indecent place. 

Her driver soon arrived and she climbed into the car once she saw him coming. 

"Any appointments made, Miss Sayaka?"

"No, just send me straight to the hospital. I'm going to help grandpa to pack his things."

Hiroto nodded and he started to drive to the hospital. Sayaka's face was glued to her phone but her eyes were fixed at her black haired driver. 

The young driver named Hiroto was a few years older than Sayaka and he had been staying with the Yoru Clan ever since her grandfather took him in when he was a teenager. Her father was against it because he did not really trust him and was probably afraid that he would gain more favour from the clan leader himself. 

Whenever Sayaka felt miserable, he was the one that she often looked for and he treated her like his little sister.

"Hey, Hiroto?"

"Yes, Miss Sayaka?"

She rolled her eyes as she did not like to be addressed like that unless it was from other servants.

"How many times did I tell you not to call me like that?"

"Why shouldn't I?"

"You already promised me to call me only Sayaka, not Miss Sayaka," she gave a small angry pout. 

"I had to promise because you would not stop crying when you're small. Plus, other people will gossip more if they see how close we are."

"That's none of their business, right?? Why can't they just leave me alone??"

"Because you're the clan leader's favourite granddaughter, that's why."

She groaned and she continued to look at her phone. They did not talk for a while until something came across her mind. She looked up at her driver again before she spoke up. 

"Hiroto, I'm sorry."

"Why would you apologise?"

"Because my father yelled at you for...saving my life?"

"I have to save you, Miss Sayaka," he answered while he tightened his grip on the steering wheel. "Who in the world would let his daughter being groped by a bunch of idiotic drunkards?"

"But they are my father's friends, of course he would be angry."

"Are you letting them take advantage of you? You were crying and begging them not to touch you but they did not listen. They only listen to my fists once I barge into the bar."

"I was afraid that you would be kicked out from the clan."

"I only listen to your grandfather, Miss Sayaka. Your father is not an official clan leader, so his orders are not valid."

He made a few more turns in the road and they soon arrived at the hospital. Sayaka was on her way to the room where her grandfather stayed and she smiled happily when she saw him standing with his own feet. Hiroto would rather wait so that both of them had a private conversation. He sat on one of the hospital benches and he took out his phone to see his new messages.

One of them was from the clan leader's right-hand man named Touma and the only person Hiroto could trust aside from the clan leader. 

Touma had been teaching him a lot of things right after he joined the Yoru Clan and he was highly satisfied with his performance. He had made his right choice to make him as the driver and an assistant to the clan leader if in case he was away for important business. 

Even if Hiroto did go against Sayaka's father's orders, Touma mentioned that he did the right thing by saving Sayaka from those drunken men.

"Hiroto?"

"Yes?" he looked up at her in sudden.

"My grandpa wish to speak with you before we leave. I'll get some water from the vending machine."

He nodded before he stood up to meet the clan leader. Sayaka's grandfather looked a few years younger than his actual age (68 years old) and he was smiling at the young driver.

"Good evening. How do you do, Mr Tatsuya?"

"Feeling much better," the clan leader named Kuranosuke Tatsuya chuckled. "I am super glad that I could finally leave this hospital."

"That's because your injuries are highly serious, Mr Tatsuya," Hiroto answered. "Miss Sayaka would not stop asking about your conditions."

"Yes, yes, I know that. But I was worried once I heard from Touma that she was working in the bar as her punishment. However, I am thankful to you for saving her from being harassed by those men."

"It is simply my duty to protect her."

"Even if you have to go against my son's order?"

"No, because she is your beloved granddaughter."

The clan leader merely smiled and he nodded. It was true that he loved Sayaka more than Sayuri because she had the exact looks like her deceased mother despite both of them were twins. 

"Hiroto, I might as well need to trouble you again."

"What can I do for you, Mr Tatsuya?"

"Touma and I decided to arrange to meet someone important. We would want to discuss that incident before I was heavily injured. So, you will be the one to take us to one place."

"Who are you going to meet?"

"The leader of the Hibari Clan."


	12. stage

Yamamoto picked a wrong time to leave both Reborn and Tsubame in the living hall and he was completely unaware that the hitman was inviting her to play a dangerous game. She was still staring at the revolver on the table and her fingers already went cold. She could not tell if it was a real or a fake weapon as fake items were much more realistic. 

"Something wrong, Tsubame?" the hitman asked and he was amused to look at her reaction.

"N-no, nothing wrong..." she nervously smiled. "I'm just wondering...if this is real or not. Since, well-"

"I see. You don't need to worry," he took the revolver and unload its bullet which was entirely made with plastic. "Does this convince you that it's a fake revolver?"

She stared at the plastic bullet for a few seconds before she believed that it was a fake revolver, sighing with great relief.

"Thank goodness, I thought it's real. Do you always carry this thing around? You might get caught for having this stuff."

"Why not? I sell fake weapons to anyone who needed it for their cosplay."

"Is that so?"

"You can choose to believe it or not. I have the permission from the authorities," Reborn loaded the plastic bullet in the same revolver and placing it on the table again. "So, shall we start the Russian roulette game?"

"How are we supposed to play?"

"Simple. Three questions for both of us. Out of the three questions, you will need to answer one of them truthfully. Others must be a lie. While answering, you must place its muzzle on your temple and pull the trigger. Whoever got shot with the bullet is considered a loser."

"Tell a lie? I-I'm not good at lying," she grew confused. "Is it altogether six questions according to the number of the revolver's cylinder?"

"Exactly, and only one bullet will determine the winner of this game," Reborn added and he gestured her to pick up the revolver. "If you accept the challenge, I shall start to ask you one question."

Tsubame was not even sure why she would agree to play the Russian roulette game with him. As he had proven that it was a fake weapon, she would not hesitate. Maybe it was a good start to know more about Yamamoto's former tutor.

She picked up the revolver and placing the muzzle at her temple, making sure that her finger had touched the trigger. It was heavier than she could imagine.

"Tell me a lie. Do you have any siblings?"

"Ye- Wait, no!" Tsubame quickly answered.

"You are not good at lying," Reborn chuckled. "Aren't you supposed to pull the trigger?"

"I'm trying..." she answered and she did try to pull but her fingers were shaking. Why she could not do it when it was just a fake object?

_Ugh, stop thinking about death! It's a fake gun, I'm not going to die anyway!_

Blinking her eyes hard, she managed to pull it and she could hear a click sound. Nothing came out to hit her temple.

"You're safe. Now it's your turn to ask me a question."

"Okay," she placed the revolver on the table and Reborn casually took it, placing the muzzle at his temple. "Tell me a lie. Do you have any girlfriend?"

"No," he answered while pulling the trigger calmly.

"So you do have a girlfriend. No doubt about it since you're good looking."

"Indeed, I have four of them."

"F-four??" her eyes widened with shock. "Like how??"

"I don't mind if you want to be my next girlfriend," he winked playfully.

"Forget about it," she muttered and picked up the revolver. "Let's continue the game then."

"Sure. Tell me a lie. What does your father work as?"

"...a discipline teacher at Namimori Middle School."

She pulled the trigger and nothing happened. It seemed like it would be her last chance once it was her turn unless if the bullet hit Reborn's head.

"That's a good lie. I don't remember meeting any teacher named Kinoshita from that school you've mentioned."

"I could not think of any school name since it's supposed to be a lie. Then, I instantly remembered Takeshi's middle school name."

"I see. So your father is a teacher."

"Close enough. My father is a lecturer from a local university, teaching history."

"No wonder your father is a strict parent."

"Probably, even my brother could not stand him sometimes."

"Your brother?"

"My older brother. He left when I was eleven and my father forbids me and my mother not to mention him in the house ever since that day."

"Why your brother left?"

"Something that I will never understand. Both my brother and my father were having a serious argument before he left."

Reborn noticed her troubled face when she spoke about her brother. He did not want to question further as he picked up the revolver to continue the game instead.

"Guess we need to resume our game, Tsubame. Your turn to ask me."

"Alright. Tell me a lie," she furrowed her eyebrows, thinking hard of what question she should ask him before she blurted out. "Do you own any pets?"

"I don't have any pets," Reborn answered and he pulled the trigger. The bullet still did not hit him either.

"You have a pet?" she asked curiously.

"Of course I have. He's been with me all the time."

The hitman removed his black fedora hat and a green chameleon was resting on top of his head. 

"That's your pet??"

"Why? Is it wrong to have a chameleon as a pet?"

"I didn't say it's wrong. I rarely see anyone bringing out chameleon anywhere they go."

"Leon is not an ordinary chameleon. He doesn't like to be caged like a normal chameleon does because it made him looked like he was displayed in the zoo."

"Is that so?" Tsubame smiled at Leon. "I think he's really cute."

She was quite certain if she saw it wrongly because Leon smiled at her compliment. 

"He must be happy to hear that. Now, it's our last turn. Are you ready?"

She gulped nervously. Their last turn would determine the winner of the game. Moreover, they will need to answer their given question truthfully. Reborn would be asking her and his face held a serious look. 

"The last question and you must answer it truthfully."

She nodded and the revolver's muzzle was fixed against her temple. Her heart was beating faster than usual and the living hall was quieter. 

_Why Takeshi was taking a long time to return?_

Reborn cleared his throat, breaking the silence. 

"If someone ever hides something from you but it turns out that they did it for your good, would you ever give them a chance?"

She did not speak for first. She was wondering why Reborn would ask a strange question. She soon thought about her parents who had been hiding a lot of things from her. Her brother who left home without leaving any words to her. 

It could be anyone including Yamamoto. She would be annoyed and angry for not knowing anything. If it was true that it was for her good, that did not mean that she did not have the right to know the truth.

"...I would."

"You would?"

"I would. But, if they are not comfortable to tell me about it, I'll wait. Wait until they are ready to explain the whole situation."

Tsubame did not hesitate further as she pulled the trigger. Her eyes were closed, expecting to get shot with the bullet. 

She was safe once again. It meant that she won the game. Reborn gave a small smile and he took the revolver from her hands. 

"Looks like you win the game, Tsubame."

"I win? For real?"

"The bullet didn't hit your head. I would be the one to get shot," he simply pulled the trigger and the fake bullet came out through its muzzle. "See? I lose in this game."

"Hey, I didn't ask you any question!" 

"Oh, what do you want to ask?"

"Just, who are you?"

"I'm just a home tutor, that's all."

Reborn smirked before he stood up to get some fresh air. He was entering the dining hall and Yamamoto was already standing against the wall. His hand was still holding a bottle of green tea which he was supposed to give it to Tsubame.

"You heard everything, Takeshi?" Reborn asked quietly.

"Yeah, everything," the Rain guardian answered.

"Well, what are you going to do?"

"...I'll tell her when I'm ready. It's unfair if I hide it from her."

"That's a wise decision you've ever made. One more thing."

"Yes?"

"Be sure to protect her at all cost."

* * *

"Huh? Your parents already set your engagement date?"

"Yeah, probably before we could start our training in the hospital," Tsubame answered Manaka's question as she took out a bowl of Caesar salad from the vending machine.

"No wonder you are on a diet."

"What do you mean?"

"You eat less so that you could wear a wedding dress, right?" Manaka grinned.

"I'm not!" Tsubame's face turned red. "I am this thin, you know!"

"Then why are you eating a salad today?"

"I don't feel like eating anything heavy. And where's Chizuru?"

"She's having an extra class for her failed subject. She's not going to qualify if she fails again."

"Hopefully she passed. I wanted the three of us to start our training in the same place."

"If only the lecturers are kind enough to do so," Manaka rolled her eyes while taking a bite of her cream puff. "Do you know that the dean from one of the medical college got caught for purposely failing the female students' grades?"

"I heard about it. The dean claims that female doctors shouldn't be doctors in the first place as they would become housewives once they are married."

"I would protest if I were studying there. My parents say that I was lucky to study at this university or they would sue the dean."

"You don't have to worry. My dad says that this place has a clean record."

Both of them continued eating during the lunch break when a certain young lecturer came in, calling out for Sayuri's name. He was holding a bouquet of red roses as he gave it to the younger twin.

"Sir, where did these flowers come from?" Sayuri asked curiously.

"It's from the courier service. There's no name in the card and your name is in it."

She took it and she started to read the message from the card aloud. 

**_Your rosy cheeks are as radiant as the red roses. I cannot stop thinking about you. Please accept this lovely token as your advanced birthday gift. From; your beloved boyfriend._ **

Her friends squealed excitedly, thinking that it was Nori who sent the roses to Sayuri. Manaka was dragging Tsubame out from the cafeteria with her disgusted look. 

"For God's sake! Sending flowers and that cupcake message in the campus! Is he out of his mind??" said Manaka with her annoyed tone.

"Wait, I don't think Nori would do that. He's been busy with his concert preparations."

"Hello, if you're madly in love, you would do anything to make your partner happy."

"That doesn't sound like him, Manaka. You knew him better."

"Okay, fine. It would be better if you could understand your fiancee better than Nori."

"I've told you, Nori is just my friend. How many times I have to repeat this sentence??"

Manaka heard someone talking from the men's washroom and she signalled Tsubame to keep quiet. They were standing against the lockers which were near enough for them to listen to the conversation.

_"Did she get the roses?"_

"Yes, boss. She completely believed that her boyfriend was the one gave her the roses."

_"Good, good. Looks like my plan is going on smoothly."_

"Boss, are you trying to stage a serious clan fight?"

_"I think that it's time for the Yoru Clan to step down as the king of all the clans. I'm done standing behind their shadows all the time. I want to fulfil my late father's wishes."_

"Wishes? What could it be?"

_"I'm done talking. You sure that no one is listening to our conversation?"_

Manaka and Tsubame's heart stopped with fear. They had been listening to something that they should not know. If they move away, they would get caught immediately.

Worst of all, Tsubame's phone was ringing at the same time. 


	13. assault

Since Tsubame did not have lots of friends or any acquaintances, the caller could be most likely her parents, Manaka, Chizuru or Yamamoto. The stranger from the men's washroom found out that someone had been listening to his conversation and he was going to catch them.

Somehow, the emergency bell had saved both Tsubame and Manaka. It was ringing continuously on the whole campus and all the students were seen leaving from their classes with surprise, confusion and worry.

Manaka did not hesitate further and grabbing Tsubame's hand to join the other students so that the stranger would not make it catch them.

"Hey, did you see who's that guy?" Tsubame whispered loudly at Manaka.

"No, better not seeing his face or else he knows," Manaka quickly answered. "Whoever caused the fire in this campus, let us owe them for saving our lives."

They did not speak further and almost everyone was assembled at the campus's ground while waiting for any announcements. Some of them could see the thick black smoke coming out from one of the laboratories and those who were involved were seen exiting from that place. 

Both of their eyes widened with shock as they saw Chizuru running out with other coursemates from the laboratory. Once the lecturers had confirmed that the students were uninjured, Chizuru joined her friends while panting to get some air.

"Chizuru, are you alright??" asked Tsubame worriedly.

"What exactly happened there??" Manaka asked as well and some students nearby were eager to hear Chizuru's answer.

"Long-short story, Genta made a mistake while mixing two different chemicals during the class..." she explained while catching her breath. "So that mixture he made went boom and that's how the fire came from..."

The students began whispering with each other before Tsubame and Manaka could reply.

"Genta? The one who often confused with the chemical names?"

"Man, this is not the first time he created a mess."

"If this keeps on going, he will not be able to graduate. Hopeless case."

Manaka hated to see the students giving their false hopes to another student who tried all his best to pass his exam but she could not deny the fact that he had been repeating his semester for many times. 

"I'll help him. Help him until he successfully graduated from the university."

Both Manaka and Chizuru turned to look at her and Tsubame simply smiled. She was highly determined to help a student who needed help and if it was not because of him, she and Manaka would get caught by the stranger earlier.

"I think he would be grateful if you decided to help him."

"Why not? At least he saved our lives, Manaka."

"Huh? Saving your lives?" Chizuru tilted her head curiously.

"We'll explain later. Now I'm wondering where is Sayaka."

"Wait, wait. Do you want to tell her about what we've heard? Are you out of your mind??"

"You heard him, right? Sayuri is walking into someone's trap and if there's nothing can be done, she will be in grave danger."

Manaka let out a loud sigh. Her expression showed that she wanted to shake her friend's head as hard as she could.

"...Tsubame. You probably aware that they used to bully you, and you still want to help them??"

"I know."

"Then why-"

"Oh, she's there. I better catch up with her."

Without waiting for their response, Tsubame walked rather quickly to meet Sayaka who was on her way to the campus's exit. Once she called out for her, the older twin turned around and she gave her annoyed look at her.

"What is it this time, Speckles? Better be quick because my driver is waiting for me."

"It's important. It's about your sister, Sayuri."

"So? Are you expecting me to worry about her?"

"Well, you really should, start from today."

"She can take care of her own. Or having her precious boyfriend to protect her," Sayaka scoffed with disgust. "She looked even happier after receiving his gift."

"Nori didn't give her that bouquet of roses."

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

Tsubame started to tell what she and Manaka heard from the stranger's conversation. Sayaka had been paying full attention and her expression changed, knowing that it would be a serious matter.

"You are saying that...someone is trying to bring down the Yoru Clan?"

"That's what we've heard. Still, are you really from the famous Yoru Clan?"

"That's true. My grandfather is the leader of the Yoru Clan. However, Sayuri and I are forbidden to tell anyone about our real identity. So, we are better known as the Kuranosuke twins. Just be a daughter of a rich businessman rather than the clan member."

"...I see."

"Thanks for telling me but I will need to warn you."

"Warn me?"

"Do not ever get involved with my family affair and forget about what you heard from that stranger."

"Why is that so?"

"Trust me. You don't want to know what kind of world I'm living in."

Sayaka simply left the campus and soon hopped into the car that had been waiting for her a few minutes ago. Hiroto looked up to see her before he started to drive her back to her home.

"What took you so long, Miss Sayaka?"

"Nothing much. I heard that someone is trying to harm my family's clan."

"Who is it?" 

"Probably the same person who attacked grandpa. Should I let Touma know about it?"

"You should. Touma would be able to make a proper arrangement. But first, who is the one telling you about someone planning to attack the Yoru Clan?"

"The girl whom I cut off her blouse months ago. I told her not to get involved if she wants to be safe."

"A girl?"

"Kinoshita Tsubame."

Hiroto's eyebrows raised tensely right after he heard the name. He had almost forgotten that someone also shared the same surname.

Because of a certain incident, his closest friend ended up being disowned by his family and he never heard any news from him ever since. 

* * *

Almost everyone knew that the Yoru Clan's benevolence contributed a lot for the government and the society but Kuranosuke Sayaka's warning gave Tsubame a strange feeling. She guessed that the famous clan had been hiding something from the people's eyes.

Yet, the older twin refused to tell her anything about her family's clan.

"Forget it. Better focus more on studies than being a busybody."

Tsubame was taking a bus to Yamamoto's apartment and she checked her phone after realising that she once had a missed call. Her father's name appeared in the missed call list and she clicked her tongue with annoyance. She could not understand why her father strictly told her to answer any of his calls right on time. 

"Hello."

_"Tsubame, you finally decided to call me back. Took you so long to answer my phone call, did you?"_

"Dad, there's an emergency at my campus."

_"Emergency? What could it be?"_

"A fire broke in one of my campus's laboratory."

_"Say what? Are you alright??"_

"I'm not even there. The students including my friend were safe."

_"...I'm glad to hear that."_

"Is there anything you want to tell me, dad?"

_"I have been wondering why Takeshi is not answering my calls. I've tried to call him many times until I decided to ask you about it."_

"He's probably busy or playing his baseball game with his friends. Is there any important news to tell him?"

 _"Well, I wanted to tell him that the book he wanted to borrow is already in my possession. Could you please tell him to come over my campus to take it?"_

Tsubame blinked her eyes several times to make sure that she did not hear wrongly. Her eyebrows raised with curiosity before she continued to talk.

"Dad, I didn't know that he likes to read."

_"You don't know? Now you need to spend more time with him."_

"If it's not because of this arranged marriage..." she muttered.

_"What?"_

"Nothing. I'll tell him about that book he wanted to borrow. I'm about to reach the apartment."

_"Alright. Don't forget about the engagement date, Tsubame."_

"Okay, I got that. Thanks, dad."

She ended the call and groaned when she thought about the engagement. Compared to her mother, her father seemed to rush everything especially the arranged marriage. Her mind began to question his secrecy when her phone rang again. 

"Really? Dad, what is it this time??"

Instead of her father, she received another call with the word _private number_ on it. She would usually ignore it to avoid any scam calls but she had the odd feeling that she should answer the call.

"Hello?"

There was no answer from the unknown caller. She could only hear the sound of pouring rain through the phone.

"Hello? Is anyone there? Hello??"

It was quite a long silence until the unknown caller hung up the phone. She sighed as she would have ignored it earlier than wasting some of her time talking to an unknown caller. 

The bus stopped right at the apartment and she stepped out, bringing along her bag and files. All she could think was to get some nap before working on her coursework.

"VOII! JUST TELL ME WHERE IS THAT BRAT!!"

Tsubame jumped with shock once she heard a loud voice, much louder than in the cinema. She was on her way to Yamamoto's apartment and she saw a tall long-haired man wearing a black trench coat. He was giving his threatening look at another man with a sword sticking out from the coat's sleeve.

"I-I don't know w-who are you referring t-to..."

"HE TOLD ME THAT HE LIVES HERE!" he yelled even louder. "IF HE'S NOT SHOWING UP, I'M GONNA SLICE HIM INTO PIECES!"

"Y-you can't do that, s-sir...no w-weapons allowed in t-this area..."

"I DON'T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT THE RULES, YOUNG MAN!" he pointed his sword at the other, an evil grin appeared on his face. "And you're pretty brave to tell me what I should not do."

Tsubame was certain that this madman needed to be arrested quickly. She slowly took a few steps away before she took out her phone to call the police but her fingers were shivering at the same time. 

"You're such an easy target, missy."

Before she could react, another person kicked her from behind and she fell on the floor. Her things scattered and she was groaning with pain. The robber attempted to take her bag and she pulled it away from him. He clicked his tongue with annoyance and he continued to kick her harshly. 

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"

The robber froze and the long-haired man was glaring at him. That stare was enough to scare the robber off as he quickly let go of Tsubame's bag, trying to run away.

She was in pain and she could not even sit up. It was an unlucky day for her. 

"Tsubame!"

Yamamoto ran to her and he was checking her injuries with worry. Tsubame did not think much as she gripped both of his hands tightly despite the pain she suffered.

"T-Takeshi..."

"Yes, what is it??"

"It's really painful...I want to lie down right now..."

"Okay, I'll carry you now."

She clenched her jaw, trying not to scream with pain while Yamamoto carefully carried her back to his apartment. It happened so quickly that she soon fell asleep once she was placed on the bed. He took most of his time to tend her injuries and a small smile was formed on his face, feeling glad that it was not serious.

"Oi, where am I supposed to put these things?"

The long-haired man was carrying Tsubame's things and his expression looked like he was treated like a servant by force. The Rain Guardian tried not to laugh as he took her things from the other's hands before placing them on the desk.

"Thanks for your help, Squalo. And sorry for the trouble."

"You better get me something for me to drink, brat," Squalo sat on the couch, sighing loudly. "I can't believe I have to deal with that trash."

"I can't simply let go of someone who's trying to hurt Tsubame," Yamamoto replied as he passed a glass of water to Squalo. 

"Water?"

"No alcoholic drinks in my apartment. I guessed that you preferred wine over beer."

"Fine. And who is this girl you desperately trying to protect? Your family member?" 

"Oh, she's my soon-to-be wife."

Squalo coughed out some water he drank, giving his unbelievable look at him.

"Your future wife??"

"Yes. Did Tsuna ever tell you that I'll get married soon?"


End file.
